The Blessing and Curse that is Hope
by TheHeart'sCompass
Summary: Levi is not sure whether he has found a blessing or a curse when the appearance of a strange girl turns his world upside down. With his work cut out for him, Levi must try to tame the beast she holds and uncover the human that is hidden underneath. Together, both will gain strength as they discover the true nature of Hope. Levi x OC
1. Chapter One: The Long-Haired Titan

****READ THE DISCLAIMER! Shingeki no Kyojin is property of Hajime Isayama! I own no part of this except for my OCs.****

Chapter One: The Long-Haired Titan

The color of blood had begun to stain the sky as the sun sunk closer to the horizon. Picturesque as it was, the violent shade of red struck a little too close to home for the soldiers of the Scouting Legion. In only a handful of hours, they had suffered record-breaking losses in their mission to capture the Female Titan. Their _failed_ mission to capture the Female Titan. With that heavy reminder ever-present, most of the retreating soldiers' hung heads and slumped shoulders prevented them from even glancing ahead at the vivid hues of the sunset as they moved through the forest.

There was only one raised head among the many broken spirits. Corporal Rivaille was staring relentlessly forward as he maneuvered through the trees, eyeing the massacre occurring in the clouds overhead. While he didn't outwardly show any signs of anguish, the scene playing out in the sky caused him to inwardly flinch. Levi could practically count a body of a fallen soldier for every streak of red that was covering the clouds. It could be seen in his stiff posture that the boy was struggling to rid himself of the dismal thoughts that clung to him like parasites. _Even with all the people I sacrificed, I don't have a damn thing to show for it. Not one damn thing! The Female Titan was devoured, our remaining men are in shambles, and we'll return to the Karanese District with nothing but injured soldiers and the news of failure_. Levi made sure not to let his disappointment in the day's events be apparent to the other members of the Scouting Legion, but there was no use hiding anything from himself. _My men died in the hope that their deaths would serve a purpose for humanity. _Bitter realization was what finally turned the Corporal's eyes away from the horizon. _In the end, I couldn't even offer them that hope._

Looking back at the day's casualties, it almost didn't seem possible for the situation to become worse. The sense of foreboding that heavily lingered, however, told Levi otherwise. At that very same moment, traveling not too far ahead of Levi, Commander Irvin's instincts were telling him the very same thing. Danger was near, and any more damage could prove to be detrimental.

Commander Irvin was still pondering the final actions of the Female Titan. Something just wasn't sitting right with him. The image of massive amounts of steam pouring off the Female Titan as she was torn apart came back to the forefront of his mind. He had acted on a hunch when he had told Levi to go refill and replace his blades instead of retreating immediately. Maybe the possibility of his hunch being correct was low, but it was the only probable reasoning behind the Female Titan's actions. The Commander was brought out of his pensive state as Hanji voiced her concerns on the very same subject.

"Irvin, why did you send Rivaille to refill? We hardly have time for that," Hanji asked, too troubled by the Commander's unprecedented actions to remain silent.

"I did it because I remembered one of your hypotheses." Irvin answered without his eyes straying from the path ahead of him. He just barely caught the questioning sound from Hanji over the thundering of the horses' hooves. "You hypothesized that when the Colossal Titan disappeared the reason why no one had seen the person who was inside it was because that 'insider' equipped himself with 3-D Maneuver Gear beforehand and, using it, quickly escaped under the vapor cover," he continued before Hanji quickly cut him off.

"But I also concluded that it's hardly possible based on the similar situation with Eren when he emerged out from a titan. His equipment was hopelessly damaged and even his uniform was gone, not to mention that Eren was so exhausted he couldn't even stand without help."

"That female type had the ability to draw titans with her scream. We didn't know she could do that, and our plan failed." A hardened look fell across the Commander's face, knowing that they would need to expect the worst and be prepared for it in the future. If things continued as they were, ignorance would end up being the undoing of the Scouting Legion. "We need to adapt our way of thinking and concepts quickly if we want to outsmart the enemy. If that 'Titan Power' can be trained, then basing our perceptions and conclusions on Eren, who is only a beginner in using that power, is wrong." While having Eren on their side was a great advantage in itself, when going up against fighters with the same caliber as the Female Titan it would not be nearly enough. "It's as you hypothesized: if the enemy used vapor as a cover and escaped with gear similar to ours put on in advance, they could very well mingle with the scouts."

A shiver passed down the leader's back, and the hair on his neck stood up as another wave of foreboding danger swept over him. With a sense of finality, Irvin stated what he feared most. "If the enemy has a way to preserve their stamina, it's possible they can transform into a titan again." And as the words passed his lips, there was suddenly no more doubt in the man's mind. What he had been fearing since seeing the excess smoke was true.

The Female Titan was alive, she was on the move, and she would stop at nothing to leave with Eren as her prize.

~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~

Levi's Unit, officially known as the Special Operations Squad, however, was almost in a world of their own. None of it's members were aware of the failed mission concerning the Female Titan and instead believed it had been successful. Joking and teasing one another as they retreated, the five soldiers were completely unprepared for any attack.

Günter was the first to realize any inkling of the peril to come, but by then it was far too late. A darting figure caught his attention, although it was moving at such a fast pace that he couldn't make out who it was. What he could make out, though, was the gear the person was wearing. _That cloak looks just like... Could it be? _"Corporal Rivaille?" The mysterious figure narrowed in quickly, and it was when the person was nearly on top of him that Günter realized his mistake. "No, it's not him. Who _is _that?"  
His question was quickly answered by the slashing of two blades through his neck. As his body fell, it twisted in the air so that his comrades had a clear view of his neck. There was a moment that everything fell deadly quiet. In shock, the four remaining soldiers took a moment to take in the slash wound that had closed the curtain on Günter's life. A wound that was undeniably cut as one would cut the nape of a titan's neck. The chilling moment was suddenly gone, replaced with the fire of vengeance.

Auruo's hand latched onto Eren, jolting him forward, all humor from just a minute before now the last concern on his mind. "Eren, don't stop! Keep moving!" Kicking into high gear, Auruo took it upon himself to force Eren toward safety and away from the chaos that was unfolding behind them.

"WHO DID THAT?!" Petra screeched in a rage. All of her sweet, caring personality was thrown out the window as her eyes began combing the giant trees for any sign of the murderer.

"Protect Eren!" Erd barked out the order as he lept into action. Weaving back and forth, Erd did his best to keep his priorities straight, while at the same time battling to keep his searing anger from taking over.

"Fuck it all! What we gonna do?!" Auruo yelled over his shoulder, struggling to keep calm. "Erd, where should we go now?!"

"The top priority is to reach our commanders and comrades!" Erd called out with the most rational response that he could manage. The rationality was lost on Auruo, who immediately began cursing loudly as the reality of the situation dawned on him.

"Is that the one that was inside of the female type?! Or are there several of them?! Shit! The nerve the fucker's got!" Eren was overcome with a mixture of fear, shock, and disbelief at Auruo's words.

_The Female Titan?! How can it be? Didn't they catch her?!_ Eren screamed internally.

"COME OUT!" Petra screamed in the general direction she knew the coward to be hiding in. "You have no honor, but I'm still going to give you a fair chance!"

A blinding flash followed by a resounding bang brought any mystery of the unknown threat to an end. Heat radiated from the rising titan form that was recognized by the scouts right away.

_So it's really her! She's coming! _Eren's eyes widened in horror. _The female type's closing in!_

After a moment of disorientation, the tall form of the Female Titan broke out into a run, her sight never wavering from her target. This sent Eren over the edge, and without a second thought he began to raise his hand to his mouth. "This time I'm going to do it! I will fight her!" Eren shouted out in warning.

"No you won't!" Erd shot right back. The last thing they needed in this situation was Eren losing all sense of control and possibly being taken away because of it. "The three of us will deal with her! You go on ahead to our commanders' place as fast as you can, Eren!"

Continuously told that he shouldn't fight, Eren finally relented and agreed to leave the fighting to his comrades. Turning to continue toward safety, he full heartedly put his trust in his squad. "Good luck!" he declared and then left the three to do what they did best.

Always eluding her grasp, the scouts used their speed to their advantage. Working together flawlessly, the team needed no words to communicate their plan. Swooping in, Petra and Auruo slashed the Female Titan's eyes, leaving her blind to any further attacks before her eyes could regenerate. Sensing her vulnerability, the titan quickly raised both hands to cover her neck. Without pause, the soldiers continued their assault, cleaving the rotator muscles in their victim's shoulders. Just as planned, the Female Titan's arms fell to her sides and the neck became exposed. Victory ready for the taking, Erd readied himself to dive for the final kill.

In the following moments, it was almost as if something forced Eren to look back. A feeling that gave him chills and came with the guarantee of death. He wasn't alone in that feeling. Then Eren realized he wasn't alone period. Yet, the feeling that could only bring him to turn his head was capable of bringing this other person straight to action. From the corner of his eye, Eren could just barely make out a shadow springing forward from above him.

Leaping from where she had remained concealed in one of the towering trees, the girl's hand flew to her neck, instantly slicing her palm in a practiced manor against the razor-sharp edge of a necklace. Her eyes were focused intently on Erd, watching him move in closer and closer to the Female Titan's neck. The ensuing flash blinded Eren from seeing the actual transformation, but it was unmistakable: there was another titan present. _Is this one here to save the Female Titan?!_

When he had finally regained his sight, Eren almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. Certainly his eyes were lying to him! Still, he couldn't deny the sight right in front of him. Oh, and what a sight it was!

Right in the middle of the clearing stood another titan. She was distinctly female, as was made obvious by the long, cascading hair that fell to the titan's waist. Eren, in the moment of confusion, was surprised to see that the fifteen meter class titan was actually fairly pretty, quite unlike all the other grotesque titans he had seen previously.

More surprising than that, however, was the Long-Haired Titan's fist planted firmly in the Female Titan's jaw.

Eren, along with the his three comrades, found himself agape. With the Female Titan's head snapped backwards from the punch, all of the scouts were able to see the one newly regenerated eye that looked close to popping out of its head at the dramatic turn of events. Just before the fist had connected, Erd had gotten in range to slice the Female Titan's neck. Now, though, everyone could see the single repaired eye and the telling position of an opened mouth—ready to chomp down on whatever came in-range. If not for the sudden punch, there was no doubt in Erd's mind that he would have been bitten in half.

Awed by his extreme luck, Erd didn't even realize he was no longer controlling his 3-D Maneuvering Gear. By the time Erd had eventually come out of his stupor he was already falling, deeply entangled in his equipment's iron wires. The hooks were still embedded in a nearby tree, making the fall partially slowed, but there was no cushioning the final impact. A distinct snap was heard as Erd impacted the forest floor, but he tumbled and came to rest at the base of a tree in one piece.

Auruo was the first to snap out of his stunned state. "You okay down there, bastard? Don't go dying on us now! I won't put up with that shit!" he yelled unconvincingly in Erd's direction. Seeing one of his closest comrades almost become titan chow had really taken a toll if the tremor in his voice was anything to go by. His worries were finally put to rest as Erd could be seen groaning in pain as he moved to sit upright. Movement was made difficult by the wires wrapped around him, rendering him entirely immobile. As he tried to lift him arms to remove the web of wires he was now entangled in, a hot bolt of pain ran up his right arm.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit tangled. Pretty sure my right arm's broken." Erd's voice, while strained, was enough to snap Petra back to attention.

Refocusing, Petra gauged the situation. _Erd's usually the level-headed leader, but he's out of the fight in his current state. Well, at least he's alive and in a relatively safe spot._ Petra knew it would have to come down herself being the brains and Auruo being, well, Auruo. Head snapping up, Petra became aware that she had completely forgotten about both titans in her getting all caught up over Erd.

Not even a minute had passed, but the Female Titan was still recovering and sat slumped against the tree for support. The Long-Haired Titan was standing over her in what looked to be a relaxed boxing pose. The newcomer made no move to strike a lethal blow, content in only keeping the Female Titan in her wounded state. Petra also took notice that the titan held almost no interest in the surrounding humans that would suffice as easy prey; she was solely focused on her opponent. Near being fully healed, the Female Titan began to regain her footing. _We missed our chance_, Petra thought bitterly. _If we hadn't been so distracted we could have finished her off!_

"Auruo," Petra called out, trying to bring his focus back to the task at hand. "The long-haired one isn't a threat to us, she's just here for the Female Titan. Forget about her, and just go for the Female Titan. If we play our cards right and use her distraction to our advantage, then we could still win this thing!" Auruo nodded in response, still trying to compose himself. Wordlessly, the duo sprung into action.

Now both titans were on their feet, and the Female Titan had dropped into a fighting stance as well. They spent a good amount of time sizing each other up: taking in the other's size, strength, and trying to read the movement of their eyes. It might have been the Female Titan's imagination, but she could have sworn the Long-Haired Titan stole a glance at the two approaching scouts. The fleeting thought was lost as the Long-Haired Titan then quickly lashed out with her left fist. Barely able to dodge the consecutive strikes, the Female Titan was kept always on the defense. The few times she had managed to counter a blow or sneak in a kick her opposition would dance out of range before returning not a second later to throw several more punches. No progress was made, and both titans stood exactly where they had been when they started fighting. Not a single hit had landed for either titan, and the Female Titan was starting to sense something fishy.

Then she caught it again. A subtle darting of an eye off to the sidelines of their fight. Eyes narrowing, the Female Titan continued the cycle of blows, and it wasn't until one of the scouts passed behind her rival that everything came together. She wasn't even _trying_ to land a hit! The girl was just trying to keep her in place so that the scouts would finish her off! Keeping the nearest scout in sight, the Female Titan was ready to squash the other titan's plan for good.

Petra was halfway maneuvered around to the right side of the Female Titan when she abruptly found herself face to foot with the titan she had been preying down upon. Not missing a beat, the Long-Haired Titan flipped the other titan by kicking out her grounding leg and pushing down on her shoulders with lightning speed. Petra's certain death stopped just a breath away from smashing her into the side of a tree. The foot and it's attached body flew backwards as it was flung to the ground. Stunned, Petra could only find herself watching the Female Titan's fall, completely deaf to the yells of Auruo.

"Petra!" Auruo screamed at the top of his lungs, watching the girl space out and continue her course toward an upcoming tree. "Righten your balance, quick!" All too late, Petra finally turned to look forward, only to be met with cold unconsciousness as she collided with the tree and fell to its base.

Auruo was the only one left to deal with killing off the Female Titan. Erd was broken and down for the count, and Petra was out like a light. Despite the unfavorable odds, he found an opening as his target rolled on the ground to settle into a crouch. The nape of her neck was wide open, and there would be no better time than now.

"Hey, slut," Auruo growled out as he swung downwards to deal the final blow. "_Die._"

At the precise moment that he moved his blades to strike, his prey was able to sense him and put up a final defense. Hardening her skin, the Female Titan was able to rise from the ground without a single scratch to her vulnerable neck. The blades had been unable to pierce her.

Only the one pest remained, and with striking accuracy the Female Titan tracked Auruo before lashing out a final kick. Auruo had no time to avoid the attack, and there was nothing he could do as she zeroed in on him.

Two hands lunged out to stop the swing of the kick that had been set to break the man in two. The redirected kick only barely managed to slam into the base of Auruo's legs, and the pain that shot up from the source of impact was the last thing he had been expecting. _How am I even alive to feel this shit?! _Auruo just barely caught sight of the Long-Haired Titan holding back the appendage that would have broken his spine in half. Holding it back. Not ripping it off or using it to swing the titan's body to the ground again. Just holding it back. The other two times a person could dismiss it as the Long-Haired Titan taking advantage of the situation to gain the upper hand on her opponent, but there was no mistaking it this time. His eyes connected with the strange titan right before he tumbled to the ground as a result of the two broken legs he now sported. Vivid green eyes met and held his gaze unwaveringly, giving Auruo absolute certainty.

_That fucker just saved my life._

~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~

Eren was in shock. He had stopped trying to escape to safety long ago; seeing his comrades be swatted down one by one by the Female Titan had stopped him dead in his tracks. Broken bodied or unconscious, his squad members lay in shambles. Anger and bitter resentment flared inside of him as Eren came to the understanding that this was all his fault. The advice that Levi had given upon their first encounter with the Female Titan began playing like a broken record in Eren's head.

_"Eren, you're not in the wrong about this. If you want to do it, do it. I never know whether you choose to believe in your strength or believe in you comrades who you consider trustworthy enough... No one knows what result your choice will bring about," Levi had drawled with a tone that held no biased suggestion. "That's why it's better if you choose for yourself the option you won't regret later."_

Remembering the words stung, and Eren, without thinking, did the only thing he deemed fit to get them out of the situation he had landed them in. Biting his hand and transforming into his titan form required no thought for the time being. All thoughts were erased from his mind except for one.

_I will slay her... I have made the wrong choice._

Resentment endlessly flowed through Eren as he in his titan form dropped down on the Female Titan from above. Pinning her to the ground, Eren let out a world shattering roar.

_That... That was my choice. But the one really at fault here is _you.

~*~*~*~*~SnK~*~*~*~*~

Levi and Mikasa were in motion before anybody could stop them. Echo of an enormous roar ringing in their heads, they hurriedly wove through the giant trees in its direction. Dread thrummed through Mikasa's veins when she had recognized the sound. _I'm positive of it_, Mikasa thought as she gripped the handles of her maneuvering gear tighter. _It's Eren!_ Pushing herself to go faster, all the girl could hope was that she would make it in time and that Eren wouldn't do anything stupid.

Eren had thrown common sense out the window as he wrestled the Female Titan. Swinging punch after useless punch, he was only succeeding in damaging his own hands. Yet, he was still determined to bash in the face of the person who had caused so much bloodshed.

Apparently, the Long-Haired Titan had different ideas. Eren's head snapped back as he was thrown off the titan beneath him. Rolling to his feet, he could feel the bone-breaking grip of someone grabbing onto his shoulders and feared for a second that the Female Titan had already gotten hold of him again. That turned out not to be the case as he found himself instead faced with the Long-Haired Titan who began pushing him backwards. Her mouth was partially open and what sounded to be a growl came out as Eren continued to be pushed away from the Female Titan.

"GGGOOOOOAAAA!" The rumbling sound continued as Eren began to push back against her. Over her shoulder, Eren could see the Female Titan rising from where he had pinned her. Now standing, the Female Titan readied herself to charge Eren, completely ignoring the other titan in between them.

_Get out of my way!_ Eren mentally cried before swinging his right arm to hit the temple of the Long-Haired Titan. Able to only block half of the blow, the Long-Haired Titan was sent flying a good dozen meters before she came to rest, dazed.

Nothing was going to stop Eren from knocking the Female Titan's head clean off, and he didn't even spare a second thought to the other titan that now lay crumpled a good distance away. But his deadly focus couldn't do anything against the titan charging him, and he soon found himself ripped of his jaw from a cleverly placed punch. Still, he fought on, but the unbalancing swipes he made at the Female Titan ended up working against him. Unsteady, he was wide open and unprepared for the strike aimed at his neck.

In a fluid movement, the Female Titan had slashed straight through his neck, taking Eren's head clean off. His titan fell, utterly spent and at her mercy. Unhinging her jaw, the Female Titan hovered over the exposed base of his neck where Eren's human body was. The titan flesh was ripped back effortlessly, leaving an unconscious Eren prone to be taken inside the Female Titan's gaping mouth.

Reaching the bloody battle scene, Mikasa's heart was instantly in her throat. "EREN!" Her desperate cry went unheard as Eren disappeared behind the titan's tooth grin. The Female Titan made sure to give a pointed look in Mikasa's direction as she wiped the blood from her mouth before standing to make her escape. "W-Wait! Eren, don't go!"

This shout didn't go unnoticed, for the Long-Haired Titan's hand quickly darted out to latch onto the escaping titan's leg, preventing her from taking even a step farther. Mikasa didn't know if she should be relieved or worried as the Long-Haired titan, fully recovered, stood to face the Female Titan. The fight wasn't over quite yet.

~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~

A twinge of uneasiness had caused Levi's hand to begin twitching, and it alerted him just before he swung past Günter's corpse. Dark hostility filled his eyes as he passed his fallen friend. The uneasy twitch was then replaced with harsh animosity and a drive to bleed out the person responsible. Hands steadied and prepared for the worst, Levi let the cold acceptance of Günter's death wash over him. He couldn't let any emotions get involved, so he could merely accept it and move on, but that didn't stop him from giving a slight bow of the head as he left the dangling body behind.

Expecting the bodies of the rest of his team to be not far off, Levi wasn't surprised when he found the other three splayed on the ground. What did shock him, though, was the color the he could make out in Petra's cheeks, the stunted movement of a trapped Erd, and endless cussing from a pained Auruo.

_They're alive?!_ Levi exclaimed internally, unable to hide his amazement. As far as he'd seen, the Female Titan hadn't spared a single person in her quest to abduct Eren. _How the hell?..._

Shaking himself back into focus, Levi continued past his soldiers and gripped the handles of his blades resolutely. He didn't have time to be concerned. He could come back and get them after securing Eren's safety which was top priority now.

New energy flowed through the Corporal, far different from the killing intent that had driven him not a moment before. There were people to be saved now, a hope to be kept alive. Blades at the ready, Levi wholeheartedly threw himself into the fray awaiting him.

~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~

Unlike the erratic flinging of punches and bodies when Eren had been fighting the Female Titan, the measured movements of both titans' current strikes made it fairly obvious to Levi that each of them had intelligence. Both glared down the other with a force that could kill, looking for any sort of opening or weakness to make a finishing move. Steam coated the two titans and healed any of the landed blows. They were stuck in a dead-lock tie.

Seeing the Long-Haired Titan threw Levi for a loop, but he quickly recovered upon spotting out Mikasa who was circling the two, trying to get a shot in. Slash wounds covered the Female Titan, but not a single one had come close to the neck or face. The reason for Mikasa keeping her distance became clear the second the Long-Haired Titan shot a jab that the Female Titan was barely able to dodge. Going any closer would be certain death.

"Give him back!" Mikasa screamed, continued her relentless attacks. At the mention of "him" Levi came to the realization that Eren was nowhere to be seen.

"Mikasa, where's Eren?" Levi's question caused Mikasa to pause her assault. The two soldiers maneuvered over to the land in the crook of a tree so they could talk strategy.

"The Female Titan has Eren in her mouth. He's alive, I'm sure of it, but I can't get close enough to do anything," Mikasa breathed out, winded and covered in blood. She gave a brief gesture to the Long-Haired Titan before continuing. "That one doesn't target me at all, it just keeps going after the Female Titan. It's worn her out, but the Female Titan still hasn't slipped up yet, and I can't get any closer to finish her myself."

Levi's eyes watched the fight unfold as Mikasa filled him in, scanning for any weak points. At last, he nodded and explained his plan. "Okay, the long-haired one is too much of a threat. Her punches, if they connect with the Female Titan's mouth, could end up seriously hurting or killing Eren. Taking her out should be easy since she just ignores humans. I'll kill her, and you hang back and wait for an opening to kill the Female Titan. Her opponent suddenly dying should be enough of a distraction for you to get one good shot in before she has a chance to harden her skin. Understand?"

"Perfectly." Nodding in agreement, the scouts soared back into the brawl.

Things didn't go as perfectly as they had planned. The first attempt Levi had made at slicing the Long-Haired Titan's neck had failed due to her lunging forward with a punch to the Female Titan's throat, making Levi miss. His blades sunk into her back instead, accidentally alerting her of his presence. Levi could now feel eyes burning into his back as he retreated to attempt again.

The second time failed, too. She had ended up ducking a punch, moving out of Levi's range at the last second. A frown started to etch itself onto his face. She didn't need to duck that low to dodge that punch. Eyebrows furrowed, Levi redirected his course to take him past the Long-Haired Titan's eyes. Sure enough, as he passed her left eye, the green orb followed his every motion. _So much for ignoring humans_. Following his discovery, Levi swiveled on his foot, turning back again midair. His sights were now set on blinding the beast which would make taking her out easy.

Cutting around so that he was angled to come at the Long-Haired Titan from the side, Levi shot out from behind a tree without warning. Approaching her from her blindside, he was confident as the blades in his hands sung out, thirsting for titan blood. All of a sudden, Levi found himself jerked back, stopped barely out of reach of the eyes he was targeting.

_What the?!_ Looking back over his shoulder, Levi's mouth fell ajar.

Off to the side, one of the wires that Levi had been using to anchor himself was held tightly in the titan's grasp.

"Levi!" Mikasa called out, horror stricken. Levi was now hanging by merely a single wire held by the Long-Haired Titan.

_How did she?..._ Levi's head snapped to look away from the hand and instead at the face of the beast that had managed to catch the Scouting Legion's ace. She wasn't looking at him. She wasn't even looking at the Female Titan, opting to dance out of range instead of dodging or ducking punches sent her way. Her eyes were elsewhere, and Levi quickly traced their invisible path to land on the trees where he had anchored his 3-D Maneuvering Gear. His eyes almost popped out of his head. _She didn't watch me at all! She knew I was gonna move to take out her eyes, and all she had to do was wait for me to launch a grappling hook to one of those trees nearest to her and then grab the wire!_ Looking back to the Long-Haired Titan's face, he was able to meet the green eyes that were now taking in his surprised expression. He could have sworn the rumbling he then heard next was silent laughter. _She was already a step ahead of me!_

"Hold on, Levi!" Mikasa shouted as she hurriedly wove her way to save Levi.

"No, Mikasa, DON'T!" Levi barked out, but he was too late, for her grappling hook was already anchored in the same area his own had been lodged in. Just as she had done before, the Long-Haired Titan reached out and grabbed onto Mikasa's wire. Mikasa felt the same jerk Levi had as she was halted just short of cutting him free. "Dammit," Levi bit out as they both dangled helplessly. _No, I can't let myself die here,_ Levi thought bitterly as he struggled to find some sort of way to cut himself out of the situation he was in, but found none. Frustratedly, he sent a glare at the titan who was holding onto their lifelines while at the same time dancing around the Female Titan's attacks. "Get it over with before I die of boredom, why don't you?!" Levi hissed out loathingly when he saw no way of escape.

After rolling her eyes for a brief second, the Long-Hair Titan did the last thing Levi had expected. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed them off to the side. Not chuck them, just tossed them.

Levi and Mikasa fell in a heap, coming to rest out of harm's way. Both were tangled in each other's wires, and while Mikasa started struggling to move instantly, Levi was far more sluggish. Black specks were tugging at his vision, trying to pull him into unconsciousness. He had cushioned Mikasa's fall, and his head got hit in the process. Levi fought back with all he had, holding on to the image of the injured members of his squad that still needed help. Forcing himself into a sitting position, the once infallible Corporal sat struggling to keep his head upright. Eventually, Levi forced himself to to stay conscious by watching the fighting titans in front of him.

The Female Titan had gotten fed up with the Long-Haired Titan eluding her punches and had lunged forward. Something flashed in the Long-Haired Titan's eyes. This was what she had been waiting for. Waiting it out to the last second, she side-stepped the charging titan. A flattened hand abruptly shot out to jab painfully down on her adversary's left shoulder. The reaction was immediate; a short howl broke out and was punctuated with a well-thrown right hook. Again ducking out of the way, the Long-Haired Titan mimicked her jabbing to the other shoulder, drawing out another yelp. She spared no time in continuing her assault as the Female Titan doubled over in pain.

A flurry of jabs that Levi's straining eyes couldn't follow began pin-pointing different areas of the Female Titan. The majority landed on the target's arms, singling out certain spots with a series of blows. The Long-Haired Titan's arms blurred, and Levi couldn't tell any longer if it was simply that fast or if his vision was failing. Wrists, elbows, biceps, shoulders, neck, chest, sides, and repeat. For a long time the Female Titan had struggled and resisted, but as the torture went on her movements slowed until stopping completely.

At that point, the Long-Haired Titan stopped completely to stand back and simply watch her opponent sway on her feet. Shakily registering the folly of blows had ended, the Female Titan raised her head, but even that small motion racked her with pain. Levi watched in amazement as the Female Titan attempted to throw a punch, but her right arm locked up halfway. It was the same case with the left arm; it moved forward ever so slightly, but ultimately came to a shuddering stop.

"She immobilized her arms," Levi managed to hiss out to Mikasa. His tongue felt like it was made of lead.

"No way," Mikasa whispered, pausing from untangling the wires to look up at the titan that now couldn't throw a single punch.

Of course the Female Titan wouldn't let it end there, though. Her kicks were unlike any other! She shouldn't be counted out yet! In absolute confidence, the Female Titan swung out her right leg in a sweeping kick aimed for the Long-Haired Titan's head. But the Long-Haired Titan had already seen the girl's last resort coming, and as the leg climbed upward swiftly she dropped low to the ground. Swinging out her own leg in a low spin, the heel of her foot connected with the back of the Female Titan's knee.

It was as if they were watching a tree fall in slow motion. Knee caving in, the Female Titan's supporting leg gave out, sending her falling forward to the ground. She didn't get up. She _couldn't _get up. Arms unable to push herself up, and with only one operable leg left, she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Rising from her crouch, the Long-Haired Titan let out what could only be a breathy sigh of accomplishment. She was exhausted, that much was understandable, but the end result was well worth the trouble. There was only one more thing left to be done.

No longer in a hurry, the titan kneeled down next to the crippled Female Titan. Her long hair fell forward and partially obscured her actions, but Mikasa didn't miss her reaching out to grab the Female Titan's head.

"NO! Eren's still in there!" Mikasa began struggling harder than ever, starting to do more harm than good. Upon seeing a hand wrap around the jaw of the Female Titan, Mikasa yelled out in desperation, "Don't you dare fucking hurt him!"

Her words didn't stop the prying hands from ripping the mouth open. Reaching inside the bloodied mess, the Long-Haired Titan drew out the unmoving form that was Eren. Mikasa let out a strangled sob and even the unsteady Levi started to struggle against his restraints. _No, no, no... This can't be happening!_

Eren in hand, the Long-Haired Titan started to make her way over to the two scouts. Adrenaline was what made it possible for Levi's hand to find the grip of his weapon, but he had no strength left to move the blade. He struggled on despite that, forcing down the pain that was searing through his arm. Something was hurt. As if that even mattered when he would become titan food anyway.

_Günter... Erd... Petra... Auruo..._ Levi thought as he slackened, no longer having enough energy to fight against the black spots. The shadow of the Long-Haired Titan's hand closing around him was the last thing he remembered as his eyes fluttered closed and the world went dark.

_I failed you._

~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~

Commander Irvin was fidgeting with the reigns of his horse. He had been informed that Levi and Mikasa had turned back to recover Eren, but that didn't make him any less antsy as time ticked on without their arrival. As soon as everyone was out of the forest and the formation had been redeployed Irvin had given the order to move out. They couldn't afford to stay still in a place as dangerous as this. Even if it was the correct call, he couldn't help but feel uneasy as the distance between the Scouting Legion and its stray soldiers became greater with every passing minute. For this very reason Irvin had a lookout scanning behind them for any sign of the missing members on horses in pursuit. That made the lookout the first to see her approaching.

"Fifteen meter class approaching rapidly, Commander Irvin, sir," the man with a telescope warned him.

"Soldiers prepare to engage if necessary," Irvin alerted his men, slightly disappointed by the news not being about the return of his scouts.

"Wait, sir," the lookout said, a little puzzled. "It seems to be carrying something in its hands. I believe they are people, sir."

"People?"

"Yessir. I can make out their scout uniforms." At the mention of scout uniforms Irvin's head snapped up.

"Is that Eren's titan?" Hope rang clear in the Commander's voice.

"Um, no, sir. I don't think so." There was a pause as the lookout double checked to make sure he was seeing correctly. "This one has long hair."

Not deterred, but slightly bewildered, Irvin pressed further, "Is it carrying our soldiers, though?"

"Yes. Several of them."

Weighing the possibilities, Irvin mulled it over before declaring loudly, "This squad! We are turning around! Have carts at the ready and be on guard, soldiers!" With that, Irvin made a sharp turn in the direction of the advancing titan. Hanji soon caught up to him and remained at his side.

"You do realize this is a shot in the dark, right?" she pointed out.

"Of course I do," Irvin said gruffly, eyes not leaving the hands of the titan ahead of them. "But what is your gut telling you?"

Hanji looked a little taken aback at the nature of the question, but then gave a curt nod. "Point taken."

Right then, the titan that had been pressing forward in a dead sprint seemed to hit a wall and slowed before falling to her knees, the figures still held delicately in her hands. It was in this state that the squad found her. Circling the threat, every soldier's hand brushed against the handle of their weapons. Irvin himself approached the Long-Haired Titan when he saw no harm in doing so. Just as the lookout had said, his missing soldiers lay in the unmoving hands of the titan. All of them looked fairly beaten up, but the telling sign of rising and falling chests caused Irvin to release a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"Get these soldiers treated immediately!" Irvin waved in the medical team who took great care in carrying each injured soldier to the carts.

The very last person to be taken to the carts was treated with the greatest amount of care and respect. He was the only one that didn't have any steady movement of his chest. Commander Irvin bowed his head and fell into a salute as a sign of respect when Günter's body was carried past him. When he lifted his head again, he turned to stare at the overshadowed face of the titan that seemed to be drifting in the depths of unconsciousness. _What kind of titan would think to bring back a dead soldier?... What titan would bring back any kind of soldier in the first place?!_

A loud hiss suddenly rang out, the source of it being steam that was suddenly spilling out at the titan's neck. Hanji couldn't be held back any longer as she climbed through the heat to reach the figure whose silhouette could just barely be made out. Grabbing hold of the strange girl, Hanji quickly removed her from the rapidly dissipating titan body. When both were again safely on the ground, they were swamped by curious scouts. Irvin pushed his way forward before stopping in front of Hanji's feet.

The woman was cradling the body of a girl that looked to be at the end of her teenage years. Completely coated in the blood of her titan but looking utterly at peace despite it, the girl was quite the disturbing sight.

After a good minute or two of unabashed staring, the Commander finally regained his senses. Barking out orders, he tried to resolve the situation in the best way he thought possible. Declaring that the girl would be restrained and brought in for questioning, he left it to his comrades to detain the girl. He watched as the girl was heavily chained before being put in a cart that was guarded with several wary soldiers. Through the whole process, not once did the look of peace leave her face, and the Commander found it unsettling to say the least. Combined with the strangeness of the situation, he just couldn't piece everything together as he looked between the carts that held the unconscious scouts and the cart where the bloodied girl that had emerged for the Long-Haired Titan rested. For once in his life, Commander Irvin found himself hopelessly confused.

_What the fuck happened to them?_

**A/N:** **WOW that took forever! Dang this fanfiction writing thing is hard work! This is my first attempt at a fanfic, and I know that was probably a slow start with all the recapping and whatnot, but things will get interesting soon, promise! I hope to update soon, but I'm not gonna lie about being random when it comes to writing on a schedule SORRY! (I'll probably post more about my updating on my profile) I'd love some feedback, so some reviews would awesome!**

**Thanks so much for reading, and have a SUPERMEGAFOXYAWESOMEHOT day! :D**

**~THC~**


	2. Chapter Two: I Regret Nothing

****READ THE DISCLAIMER! I own nothing of Hajime Isayama's story or characters. Shingeki no Kyojin is his, and I only own my OCs.****

**A/N: I'd like to take the time to thank the lovely people that reviewed, favorited, and/or followed! Big thanks and cookies awarded to Ayame. Tenou, Dragonet-Diagla123, Trepidation Chance, SaChan22, lovelyanimeangel (I love him, too! I'd normally tell you to back off, but since you're the lovely angel that you are I might be willing to let you have him X3), blackfairy30, McFassy, lumoscaitlin, samzombie, i love athrun, and sandrableach, zeropbreakthru, Guest (Thanks so much! I'll do the best I can to keep the uploads coming, and your reviews keep me motivated! ^_^), otakubookworm123, Ficchii (Thanks for your criticism on the mistakes I made, my concussion kind of prevents me from realizing if anything is wrong when I normally should be able to. A beta reader would probably help a lot, too. And I just had to keep sweet little Petra alive! I couldn't help it! If this story goes in the direction that I'm hoping, it is going to completely stray from the series's original plot. In a good way, of course, I promise! XD), LlamaChickenPie (boss username btw ;D), Bakamicchi, QueenOfFeels (AND MAY ALL THINGS BLESSED AND HOLY SHINE FAVOR ON YOU FOR YOUR BOOTYFUL REVIEW!), KiwiWunderbar, and Chrystalle (That's so cool that you had a similar idea! Great minds think alike! XD), iliketosmile, The Creator of Worlds, Veteran Yamamoto, and RamsFan7! Enjoy!**

Chapter Two: I Regret Nothing

The pain that Levi awoke to ranked somewhere between the worst hangover of his life and getting trampled by a stampede of horses. Eyes closed and breathing steadily, he stayed unmoving in the uncomfortable infirmary bed. He couldn't remember how he had gotten there, and Levi was starting to wonder if he truly had become drunk beyond belief to the point that he was sent here by Irvin so that he could sober up. Pressing further, Levi's face screwed up in strain as he tried to recall memories.

As if somebody had just opened a floodgate, the past events pushed back and bombarded him. There was the mission, its failure, Eren's roar, the scattered bodies of his squad, a blurred glimpse of two titans fighting, green eyes, a hand, and then everything went dark. Levi bolted upright as if he was electrocuted.

"_NO!_" Levi screamed out hoarsely. Hair in complete disarray, bed sheets in a tangled mess, and breaking out in a cold sweat, he looked around in panic at the memory. Hanji had been sitting in the chair at his bedside and was reviewing some of her recent titan research, but when the boy shot forward she was quick to grab his shoulders.

"Levi! _Levi!_" Hanji shook the boy's frame, trying to bring him back to reality. His eyes were unseeing, still stuck in the moment of horror he experienced before passing out. "It's okay! Everything is over now! Calm down, it's all gonna be okay!"

The twitchy trembling stopped after several minutes, and Levi's eyes eventually came to rest on the woman in glasses. "Hanji. Hanji, what happened? I-I don't know what happened... I went to help my team and bring back Eren and..." A look of sudden urgency seized the Corporal. "_My team!_ Hanji, we have to help them! They were injured and—"

"They're okay, Levi." Hanji cut Levi off, pushing him straight back down as he moved to stand. "All of them came back with you, they're perfectly fine. The three of them were already treated and have been waiting for you to wake up."

Levi physically relaxed, relieved that nobody was in danger anymore. Then he tensed up again at the mention of his _three_ squad members being safe. A quick image of a body, neck sliced open and dangling at an odd angle, flashed before his eyes. "Did Günter really..." Levi's question trailed off. Hanji's head dipping down in acknowledgement was all the answer he needed. Levi's head bent as well, taking a moment to honor his friend. "Can I see the rest of them?" he asked after a stretched out silence.

"Sure thing." She rose from where she had been kneeling at his side and passed through the curtains that separated him from the rest of the infirmary. Hanji re-entered several minutes later with Petra and Erd hot on her tail. Auruo hung back, partially because he wanted to make a cool entrance and partially because he was slowed by walking with crutches. A small smirk broke out onto Levi's face as he saw his comrades alive and well, but he was secretly beaming inside.

"You guys look like hell," Levi stated, earning a bark of laughter from Erd.

"Nice to see you, too. Well, at least we know you are your same old arrogant self, talking like your condition is any better," Erd said in a humored tone.

"Psh, we would've been better off without this fucking amateur. I mean, look at him!" Auruo pointed downward, making Levi realize that the majority of his body was covered in cuts and bruises. He was about to run his hand over the marks that now dotted his skin, but his arm stopped as the sling he wore restrained him. Giving a sound of displeasure, he removed the sling without so much as a complaint from the others. They knew better than to expect Levi to walk around looking handicapped in a sling.

"It is good to see you awake, though. You were out for a good day or so, and the doctors had started worrying," Petra said, and Levi then became aware of a pounding in the back of his head. Reaching up with his injured arm, he ran his fingers through his hair to feel a sizable bump where he had hit his head in all the chaos.

"It's good to be back," Levi said as he briskly stood to leave. There was no way he would be staying another instant in this place. It might be covered with the overpowering scent of cleaning agents, but his inner clean-freak was not fooled; the stench of blood and death couldn't be hidden from him. As he was lacing up his boots, the boy asked the question he had been wondering since realizing he was not still in the titan's territory. "So which one of you was the one to suck it up and save everyone?"

He was answered with dead silence. He had been expecting someone to leap at the chance to claim responsibility for their heroic act, namely Auruo, but even he stayed quiet. Looking up, he searched for an answer in Hanji.

"They didn't do anything." Her answer was flat, trying to act as serious as possible to make him believe her. "None of them saved anyone."

"What? Who did then? I don't like being indebted to people, so just spit out a name so I can go and thank the guy already."

"Do you remember that titan with the long hair?" Levi's fingers fumbled to a halt on the shoe he was tying. The image of green eyes burning into him spited Levi to snap back at Hanji with more bite than he had intended.

"Yeah, so? What does that have to do with anything?!"

"She was the one that saved you."

Laces forgotten entirely, Levi turned to glare at Hanji who held his eyes with seriousness written all over her face. "_What?" _he spat out, but Hanji took his tone unflinchingly. "What kind of sick joke is that?!"

"It's not. I don't joke about this kind of stuff."

"She's telling the truth, Levi," Petra timidly said in an attempt to calm her now fuming Corporal. "She kept us from getting killed by the Female Titan and carried us back to the rest of the group. They have her in custody with Commander Irvin looking over her right now, if you don't believe us. She's held in the same cell we put Eren in before his trial."

Any words that Levi had been about to say died in his throat. Piece by piece, he started to line up the facts. His three comrades had been left alive, the Long-Haired Titan had fought the Female Titan and didn't target him or Mikasa until they started interfering, and the last memory he had before unconsciousness was being picked up without being crushed or eaten by the Long-Haired Titan.

Their story actually checked out. The titan could have very well picked up the remaining scouts and ran down the rest of the Scouting Legion. Why was his instinct telling him this was true?

"You... aren't lying, right?" Levi finally asked, looking from one face to the next for any sign of false information.

"No. The titan arrived with all of you guys unconscious in her hands, and we recovered her body right after," Hanji said, repeating exactly what she had witnessed.

Levi wove his fingers together absent mindedly before giving a small nod. He had finally accepted the story, but that didn't make him any less confused. Just because he now knew what had happened didn't mean that he could make any sense of it.

Petra was in the same boat as Levi, for she had also passed out before the Long-Haired Titan had reached her a second time. "Yeah, we don't understand it either," she said while sheepishly rubbing her neck.

"Sure _you_ wouldn't, but what about Erd and Auruo? You guys were still conscious when I passed over you." Levi looked to both men for an explanation.

Erd coughed uncomfortably before fidgeting with his arm splint. "I, er, may or may not have passed out when the titan came back to pick me up."

"Pussy," Auruo chided, but he had suddenly become very interested in examining his crutches. He, too, had probably fallen unconscious as an effect of combined pain and fright.

"Well, has the girl given any answers yet?"

"No, she's still unconscious. From what Mikasa had to say, it sounded like a pretty brutal fight. She must be exhausted."

Levi let out a huff before getting up and pushing aside the curtains. All of the scouts followed him as he breezed down the hallways and navigated his way through the infirmary. Petra had let slip that the titan girl was in the jail under the courthouse, and that was exactly where Levi was planning to go. Brushing past a group of nurses, Levi made a decision to stop in the infirmary's dining hall on his way to the dungeon.

"I intend to be there the second she wakes up. I want answers," the Corporal declared to his soldiers as they arrived in the dining hall. He went straight for the coffee and shuffled around for a cup. The caffeine would help keep him awake until every question he had was answered, but he took out a special flask from inside his jacket for good measure. Pouring a good shot or two of raw liquor into his coffee, Levi downed a sip of the harsh liquid mixture as he walked out of the hospital. It stung going down his throat, but it steeled him for the task ahead. Something told him that he would be needing it.

~*~*~*~*~*SnK~*~*~*~*~

The underground prison didn't smell much better than the hospital. Blood and urine perfumed the air, and it automatically drew Levi's face into a scowl. For no reason short of a crisis did he ever bother to enter the dreary, germ-infested hell. He was by himself; Hanji had left to get some data sheets, and what members remained of the Special Operations Squad had gone to check in with their families. Even though they were all busy, the scouts had asked him to send word to them the minute the girl woke up.

Levi strode directly to the cell that Eren had once resided in, having already been told that she would be found in the same one. His boots clicked loudly, but he was too set on his target to be annoyed by the resounding echo. At the far end of the hallway stood Irvin, leaning against the bars of the cage to confirmed that Levi was in the correct location. When he ultimately stopped and saw the cage's contents he took a good long look before doing anything.

He continued to stare, his face an expressionless mask. Then he blinked once, turned on his heel, and walked back the way he came.

Irvin grabbed the boy before he could walk any farther and turned him back to look at the prisoner on the bed. Levi didn't even want to turn his head in her direction, but his head was forcefully turned, regardless. "Yeah, I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. But that's her. That's your titan shifter." But it wasn't. This girl wasn't the monster Levi had witnessed fighting. Whatever he had been expecting to find, and he hadn't a damn clue, _this_ was not it.

She looked too human. The vulnerability of how she was propped up with her head lolled to the side was not that of a beast capable of destruction. If he wanted to, Levi could walk right into the cell and break her neck before she could even raise a finger. As if trying to fight back would do any good. Her torso was strapped down to the bed to restrict her from getting up, both hands were bound at the wrists with her arms loosely chained to the wall, and both feet were cuffed to the foot of the bed. Whoever had jailed her had also gone to the extreme of gagging her so that she wasn't able to bite her tongue or lips to force a transformation. Even sensibly it could be considered overkill, but to Levi it looked just plain wrong. They had the wrong person chained up, simple as that.

Levi could also tell that Hanji had been let loose on the poor girl, taking this opportunity to play dress-up doll with her new titan shifting friend. The girl had a fresh set of clothes on, most likely Hanji's spare scout uniform, and her long dark hair looked damp and half brushed out. She had a slight frame that could've tricked a normal person on the street into thinking her to be delicate, but Levi's keen eye could see the hidden toned muscles and scars that most people would let a pretty face overshadow. And, all things accounted for, he did suppose that she was pretty. It was a kind of rugged beauty that couldn't be found in the gaudy cosmetics the rich merchant's daughters would wear every waking moment. Rugged described her more accurately than anything, for she had a wild vibe about her that no tender care on Hanji's part could take away. But wild enough to take down titans and rip off their jaws? No. Levi wouldn't believe it until he heard it come from the girl's own mouth.

At last, Levi stopped trying to stalk off to look for a person he actually believed to be the Long-Haired Titan's puppeteer. Turning to face the iron bars, he decided to remain open-minded about everything and take Irvin at his word. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Levi asked, "What have the head officials had to say about this?"

Commander Irvin let his hands fall to his sides, glad that the young Corporal had at least started addressing this situation seriously. "I met with Dallas Zacklay privately, and we both agreed it best to keep her existence a secret from the public until everything is under control. Unlike Eren, who made a huge scene, barely anyone even knows about what happened in the forest. That means that there's no huge threat of an on-coming civil war over debating the use of a titan shifter. He said that we have his approval to take any necessary actions as long as it benefits humanity. In other words, killing her if she's too much of a threat, torturing information out if she's uncooperative and so on. His only term is that she be moved to the old Scouting Legion Headquarters as soon as possible, so as not to have her in the immediate vicinity of citizens. If we keep her quiet, he'll stay quiet."

Levi lifted his chin in response with a removed look on his face. "Will it be the same as Jaeger? Me being the one to pull the plug if she goes berserk?"

Irvin nodded, pressing his lips together firmly. A thick silence followed where both men looked to the floor.

The silence was in the end broken by the rustle of a stirring body. All eyes flew to land on the now moving girl as she raised her hands to brush the sleep away from her eyes. At the sound of jostling chains, her eyes snapped open. A muffled grunt of surprise escaped the cloth gag, and she looked around to find some sort of clue as to where she was. When she turned her gaze on the metal bars, something seemed to click, and a sudden change in body language followed. Her shoulders relaxed, she leaned backwards, and took a resigned breath before trying to assess the humans outside of the cage.

The boy she could remember clearly. Apparently he was thinking the same of her, because she could see recognition dawn on him when she surveyed him.

_Those eyes_, Levi thought as he stared at what he could no longer reject was a titan shifter. The color of the her eyes along with her reaction sealed the deal. There was an almost animalistic intent in the girl's eyes as she calmly looked for the best option to guarantee survival. Getting past his realization, he rid himself of any previous doubt, now strictly all business. Irvin noticed Levi no longer seemed distant as he unlocked the iron door and entered the cell with a pocket knife in hand.

Leaning against the cement wall, his voice was cold as he addressed the titan shifter. "You are in an underground prison, so doing something stupid will only end badly. Whether you want to or not, you will talk. It's up to you if it will be done willingly or forced. No funny business or I'll assume you are resisting. I have every right to cut you open at any given time. It's my way or death row. Understand?"

She answered by rolling her eyes. Lips drawn down into a grimace, Levi approached the bed and cut the gag with more force than was needed to prove his point. When it had been removed and Levi was shutting the door, a calm voice froze him. "_Perfectly_," she coolly replied, mimicking Mikasa from the forest.

_No doubt any more_, he determined, slamming the door shut. Without turning his head, Rivaille growled to Irvin through clenched teeth. "Go tell the others the monster woke up."

Levi sat down opposite of the titan shifter, and Irvin left wordlessly despite being ordered around by his subordinate. Now was not the time to be pushing the Corporal's buttons, but apparently the girl was more than happy to do so.

"Wake me when they get here." And then, with utter disregard, she closed her eyes and dropped into a meditative sleep.

If looks could kill, she would be dead a thousand times over. Levi had no obligation to let her sleep, but he did nothing except sit by mutely. _She's too accepting of this, it's almost like she knew this would happen_. Levi leaned forward in thought, eyes never leaving the unresponsive prisoner. _Well, if she thinks she can control how things are gonna go, she'll have a rude awakening soon enough._ Levi took a sip from his flask before settling himself to wait for his fellow scouts' arrivals.

He would make sure he had the upper hand in this questioning, but he knew that she would be fighting to steal control every step of the way.

~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~

Almost everybody had gathered in the grimy hallway within the next hour. Petra, Erd, and Auruo all stood at Levi's side, and Eren was also present, being the only titan shifter the Scouting Legion could refer to for help. He was shadowed by Mikasa, and both of them were standing off in the corner. They all remained silent, having already taken note of what Levi was doing and then doing the same. The only difference was that Levi was the only one that was able to constantly watch the titan shifter. Everyone except for him would be going through a never-ending cycle of looking at the girl, staring at their hands, scanning the floor, and then attempting to look at the girl again. Commander Irvin was the last to come in and was the first to break the tension.

"Hanji is on her way, so I recommend getting started with this before she comes in and disrupts it. Whenever you're ready, Levi," Irvin said as he went to stand nearby the locked cell door.

Levi nodded mutely, watching the girl who had not stirred. She hadn't fallen back into unconsciousness, but her undisturbed slumber through the many people gathering in the hallway could have made it seem that way. Levi didn't make any move to get up and shake her awake, however. All he did was very pointedly clear his throat.

Instantaneously, forest green met steely grey as her eyes opened. Drawing herself into as much of a sitting position that her restraints would allow, the girl took stock on the people that had appeared when she was asleep. She had breathed in a single breath when her head snapped violently to the left and looked into the far corner where Eren and Mikasa stood. A few moments of sizing him up and barely glancing at her later, she turned to the Commander guarding the door to her freedom. Her eyes skimmed over him before flitting to three scouts that were looking at her very intently. Under her gaze, Erd became very stiff, Petra started wringing her hands, and Auruo shivered, clearly remembering seeing those very same eyes in the Long-Haired Titan's head. Something seemed to change in the girl upon seeing the three injured, but very much alive, soldiers. Apprehension left her tense shoulders, and she leaned back into her pillow. At last, her eyes rejoined grey ones in a stare-off, expectantly waiting.

"Hungry?"

The question was so unexpected that the girl's stone face crumbled as her eyebrows arched slightly. "What?"

"Are. You. Hungry? I assume that you can understand us, but maybe I had too high of expectations." His statement was challenging, trying to provoke out a response. His attempts were to no avail, for no such reaction came.

"Starving, and I guess I could say the same for you." She dished back exactly what he was giving out.

Levi had to suppress a growl of anger, quickly covering for it by waving in an errand boy carrying a plate of food and a glass of water. The errand boy was trembling head to toe and scampered off as soon as Irvin had taken the tray from his shaking hands. Entering the cage, Commander Irvin dumped the tray on the girl's lap and cut through the ropes binding her wrists together. Now only the chains binding her arms to the wall remained, allowing her arms the freedom of mobility. Her hand had barely moved toward the dish before Levi cut in.

"I know that you must be used to being an unclean savage, but from now on you will be using silverware. Your hands are to be nowhere near your mouth, so only grab the edge of the utensils, and hold the glass of water at the bottom. If your hand in ever less than a utensil length away from your teeth, then you can starve for all I care."

A huge sigh slipped from the girl's lips, and then she made a huge show of picking up the spoon delicately with a grip farthest possible from her mouth. Nonchalantly, Levi watched the whole display, and was not at all surprised when the spoon paused, ghosting directly over the food.

"Did you poison it?" Typical. Levi would've expected poisoned food, as well.

"And what would we exactly stand to gain from a corpse? The only reason you're even breathing is because we think your information would be useful."

There was a prolonged pause as the girl stared down at the food and water before responding. "True," she gruffly said before spooning a giant helping into her mouth, keeping the appropriate distance separation between her hand and mouth. Choking down the unsightly mush, she had nearly cleaned the plate before she spoke again.

"You're at least correct in saying that you'd have no use of me dead. Either way, though, one can never be too careful when it comes to food." She scraped the last spoonful from the tin container. It was altogether tasteless, but still filling after not eating for an entire day. Her eyes rose to the Corporal's face as she grabbed the bottom of the clear glass of water which was all that remained. As the glass rose to her lips, Levi's eyes followed attentively. "On the other hand..." The cup had brushed her mouth, and Levi had almost been guaranteed his answers when the unexpected happened.

With no hesitation, the girl tipped the glass past her mouth and instead started to pour out the water onto the dusty cell floor.

"Victims are much less likely to suspect water to be tampered with. Maybe not with anything poisonous, but I'm sure a dissolved colorless, tasteless, and near odorless substance that would loosen a person's tongue could do the job nicely. I'm sure you'd agree, seeing as you thought it would work." Green eyes that danced in mockery looked up to the frenzied Corporal who had jumped to his feet when the water splashed against the cement ground. "I'll give you props that you at least kept it as harmless looking as possible. Asking only if I was hungry instead of thirsty, and giving me a clear glass for false security was really smart. I'll give an 'A' for effort," she spoke clearly, pouring out the last few drops of water that was indeed drugged.

She then did the unthinkable, turning to smile at Levi, still holding the empty cup over the side of her bed. "I would prefer to be able to choose and be aware of what information I give, thank you very much." And with that, she released the glass, letting it fall and shatter on the floor.

When steam could almost be seen coming out of Levi's ears, the hallway door slammed open and Hanji stumbled in. "Is she awake?! I'm sorry I'm late, I hope I didn't miss anything important—"

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Am I supposed to take this as a sign of resistance?!" Hanji was almost thrown backwards at the force of Levi's outburst.

"No, I'm simply looking out for myself. I'm sure you find yourself very brave for being in this cute little Scouting Legion, but you don't live out in the real world full-time. What you see is _tame_. Go out and get some real experience. Then you'll see that the only way to survive this cruel world is to trust yourself, and yourself alone," she responded with equal venom, though she kept her cool as the boy went directly to the cell's bars, clearly furious.

"Always looking out for yourself, huh? _Only_ yourself? Why did you bring us back then?! Nothing concerned you! You could've just walked away! What did it matter to you if we all died?! Running away would have been in your best interest! So why did you _stay_?! Why did you _fight for us_?!" Levi's chest was heaving by the end of his tirade. This had gotten personal.

"_WHY DID YOU SAVE US_?!"

Any anger had vanished from the titan shifter's face as she watched the boy panting to catch his breath. This only made Levi even more furious, because it would be so much easier if she had stayed angry. But no, now he stood to look like a fool carelessly showing all of his cards while his opponent held onto her poker face.

Everybody stood in shock at Levi losing his calm composure, but they at the same time were experiencing exactly what he was. In the silence hung the question that each of them wanted answered. Why _had_ she saved them?

They all turned to stare at the girl who was almost baffled that Levi didn't already know the answer for himself. Of course none of them had known she had heard them back then, but that didn't change that they shouldn't recognize her obvious reason for action. Her voice was no longer harsh, speaking alternatively with unforeseen care.

"'If you want to do it, do it. No one knows what result your choice will bring about. That's why it's better if you choose for yourself the option you won't regret later,'" she quoted Levi word for word.

There was a flash of brief surprise on Levi's face at the remembrance of those words. Then all thoughts were forgotten with her next words.

"I regret nothing."

Taken aback and stunned into silence, every brain in the room momentarily broke down. Levi's hand slipped from the metal bars of the cage and fell to his side, completely slack. All of the other spectators seemed in a similar state, and as the titan shifter looked from one face to another she gathered that the questioning session had been drawn to an early close.

"Well, if that is the only pressing question you have, then I'd like to go back off to sleep. I'm still quite tired, so you may as well use that time to actually think out what questions you want to ask me." Not receiving a response, she let her eyes drift closed and relaxed into a meditative state. As quickly as the chaos had started, it had ended, leaving all of the soldiers to sort out what had just happened.

Hanji finally jerked to attention, realizing she was letting her big chance to get to know an experienced titan shifter fly out the window. The girl had only just leaned back into the pillow when Hanji blurted out the first question that came to her mind.

"What's your name?" The subdued excitement in her voice was not answered, for it seemed the girl had already returned to her deep sleep that she had been in earlier.

Levi, even as out of it as he was, still caught the action. He had noticed the previous time that it took the girl at least ten seconds to drop into a comatose sleep. Whilst everybody else slowly filed out of the hallway, bewildered at the day's findings, he was defined differently by one thing alone. Though he shared their stunned uncertainty for the most part, he came out of there certain about a single thought.

The girl had intentionally avoided that last question.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long, I'm on vacation and am typing this at 3am XD Oh well! I'd like to thank my readers for the great reception of the first chapter. Haha it feels really weird to actually have my writing out in the open for people to see instead of it just being inside of my head! Anyway, my main OC was introduced in this chapter! :D First impressions? I'd love to hear what you think! Also, I'd just like to say that this is going to be a slower developing romance story, because there is nothing that I hate more than a rushed romance. So have patience, my little darlings!**

**Thanks so much for reading, and have a SUPERMEGAFOXYAWESOMEHOT day! :D**

**~THC~**


	3. Chapter Three: Origins

****READ THE DISCLAIMER! ****Hajime Isayama is the rightful owner and creator of Shingeki no Kyojin. I own no part of his work, so the only things I own are my OCs.****

**A/N: Okay! Vacation over! Goodbye lovely Lake Michigan, hello gorey Shingeki no Kyojin! :D**

**Massive thank yous go out to all of the people who took the time to favorite, follow, and review! Cookies for everyone! Super double deluxe cookies go out to Kimamber, Freckled Jesus, Chocobo1374, LaCorpse, McFassy (Thanks for your support! The story is going to really start unfolding in this chapter, so brace yourself! XD), zeropbreakthru (Ermahgawd, thank you so much!), sandrableach (Wow! Vous êtes le premier examinateur étranger! Merci beaucoup pour la lecture! J'espère que vous continuerez à aimer l'histoire! Désolé pour la mauvaise traduction, je ne sais pas tout français X3), Vars (Thanks for sticking around and putting up with my crazy story! XP ), Kaitana08, Rose527, Zubatattack, disney20038, kirichancute, Ninjakittyx3, , bruscha (Haha, yeah she's gonna have to be sassy if she's gonna be dealing with Levi :P Thanks so much for your kind words!), Akasuna-No-Tenshi, Lumihiutale89, unlucky-cards (Oh thank goodness you don't think she's a Mary-Sue! I swear Mary-Sues are not even human! Her backstory is key to the plot of this story, and I can't wait to write it :3 And thanks for letting me know you don't think any of the characters are OOC, because that and Mary-Sues are two of my major pet-peeves), WickedlyTwisted, Saint-Brooke-Lynn, Guest (Thanks so much for your support! I was taking my first stab at an action scene, and hearing that you enjoyed it just made my day! :D), Kiyomi-Takashima (Haha! Please is the magic word! Here's an update!), Creative Lunatic, Mairie (You are so sweet! I'm glad to hear chapter one was good enough to read twice!), Marronn, keysmashtoinfinityandbeyond, and MikaCheshire (Man, _you_ are amazing :) I literally saw your review right as I was about to post this, so I hope the update was soon enough for you!)!**

Chapter Three: Origins

After his first encounter with the imprisoned titan shifter, Levi had almost been counting the seconds until he could stab her. The satisfaction he felt when he was finally given the needle to do so with was above anything he had ever felt before. From the minute he had left the jail after questioning her, the shock was pushed to the side and replaced with a slow-simmering anger that had grown to a boiling rage. He had to suppress the urge to go back inside the prison and bleed the girl out with every shard of glass from the cup she had broken. Humiliation was not something the Corporal dealt well with, and that much became very obvious to anybody that had attempted to approach him within the following two days. That's why every scout was far too willing to let Levi be the one to give the titan shifter the shot, hoping it would in some way curb whatever anger that had him lashing out at random people on the street.

Not surprisingly, the girl had barely said anything in the two days that the Scouting Legion members were absent. She had drifted in and out of sleep, but when she was awake she would just sit there quietly, staring ahead for an hour before going back to sleep. The guards that had been placed on her had reported this creepy tendency, saying she appeared to be relishing the sound of silence. Of course, Levi's hopes would be misguided if he had expected her to remain quiet when they came to retrieve her.

"Now, now, there's no need to resort to violence. Use your words, not needles, Corporal." Her tone was joking, but that didn't hide her shifting farther away from the shot Levi was holding. "You know what they say. 'What goes around, comes around.' I'll make sure this backfires in the worst way possible for you."

However, no words would suffice for Levi who was sneering at seeing his prisoner squirm. "You won't be doing anything for a while, so I'll take my chances. This'll knock you out for about six hours so that we can transport you to the old Scouting Legion Headquarters. That way you won't even know which way to run in if you got the opportunity, and you won't be a pain in my ass the whole ride there. So shut up, hold still, and let me enjoy this."

The girl still kept edging backwards until she ran out of space. "I'd say you're sadistic, but I've got a feeling you've been told that already countless times." The sentence had barely left her mouth when Levi whipped out his free hand to pin her shoulder to the wall before sinking the syringe into the upper part of her arm. Taking effect immediately, her limbs became heavy and unable to complete the punch she had been aiming for Levi's throat. There was a short struggle to stay conscious that proved to be futile; the feeling of drowning in molasses was overpowering, and she eventually couldn't fight it any longer. When her whole body had gone lax and her eyes were too heavy to keep open, she was just barely able to manage a smirk. "Dumbass..." Levi was the only person to catch the hissed insult, but he was far too smug to care.

Hanji and Petra simultaneously flinched as Levi carelessly flung the titan shifter over his shoulder and exited the cage. Eren and Mikasa remained unaffected by the action, aware that being gentle to the prisoner was no point of concern in their mission. All of them filed out of the stronghold after Levi, only stopping once as he reached the five horses that were readily set for travel. What, or rather who, made him stop was Dallas Zacklay. Though he was nonchalantly petting one of the horses, it was unmistakable that he had been waiting for them. Coming to provide them with a final warning, no doubt.

"Ah, Corporal Rivaille," Zacklay promptly said as he caught sight of the boy. He made no comment on the girl passed out over his shoulder, for it had become customary that no one should question Levi, no matter how odd the situation was. That didn't stop him from warily keeping an eye on what he knew to be one of the biggest gambles he would ever make. On the one hand, she could escape and go on a rampage. She was already inside of the walls, and there couldn't be a better position for an attack than that. Yet, on the other hand, the scouts and humanity as a whole that now held her captive were in an even better position. Information in these desperate times was priceless. Any knowledge squeezed out of this girl could hold the potential to change the tide of this war. Men and women alike were being sent out as titan food under the false assumption that they were soldiers making head-way for mankind. At least, that's what one could assume from the lack of results, anyway. This latest expedition proved that easily. A one-sided battle was pointless, and if no change came about, then soon enough there would be no other option but to sit back and wait for inevitable death. Zacklay squinted with measured caution and prospect at the titan shifter. _She could be that change_.

"I've come to make sure you know that Irvin won't be accompanying you on this mission. He's got to stay and sort out the whole Female Titan identity fiasco. So, you, boy, will be in charge of all of this. Nobody except you will take the fall if anything goes wrong." Zacklay then brandished a travel cloak and threw it to Levi who instinctively caught it. The Wings of Freedom stood out proudly against its back, marking the wearer as one of the Scouting Legion. Zacklay nodded in the direction of the girl, still addressing Levi. "Put that on her. All of this stays quiet and between us for now. We need to see if progress is even possible before notifying the public, and if it comes to it..." He trailed off, suddenly imagining the unconscious girl as an unmoving corpse. "Kill her off if she's too uncontrollable or uncooperative . If nobody knows, nobody will care, and there won't be anyone to protest her death. Above anything else, just don't do anything stupid."

"Do I look like the kind of person to do stupid things?" Levi challenged, agitated that he was still standing there with the drugged out girl slung over his shoulder.

Zacklay gave a curt shake of his head. "No, of course not." Then he glimpsed Hanji ghosting behind the Corporal, hand half reached out, wanting to take hold of the titan shifter. "Now, _you_ would be the exact kind of person I'm talking about." Hanji jumped backward, retracting her hand. Levi deftly sidestepped so that Hanji stood front and center to Zacklay's accusing gaze. "I don't need you getting all soft over this girl and slipping up during any of your freaky experiments. Speaking of those damn experiments, make sure not to do them inside Wall Rose. If you're gonna have her transform, go do it elsewhere. The only idiots that should be putting their lives on the line are you people, not innocent civilians, so get as far away as possible. We don't need any more screw ups from the Scouting Legion, got it?"

By this time, Hanji had backed up into one of the horses tied to a post behind her. She nodded frantically. "G-Got it, sir! I'll make sure to be extra careful!"

Zacklay gave a final warning look before turning to leave. He paused once more and glanced over his shoulder. "I'm expecting results, Levi. Don't disappoint me."

"I won't." There was no room for argument in Levi's voice.

The five scouts were once again left alone, and they quickly prepared to leave. Levi had released the titan shifter to Hanji so that she could cover the girl in the cloak. Mounting his horse, the Corporal didn't lend any help to Eren or Mikasa as the two of them worked together to lift the unconscious body onto his horse. Strapping her down to the saddle, the two then left the girl to lean against the Corporal, convinced that she at least won't fall off the horse. Levi looked back in distaste at the girl's head resting on his shoulder. He didn't want to end up having to clean any drool from his cloak. Hopefully, this trip will be over soon.

Hoods up and reigns held with conviction, the group set out. Levi took up his regular position at the front, leading the others. Everybody fell back to follow him and created an organized formation. They were down several people; Auruo and Erd had been sent ahead of time to the old Headquarters because of their injuries. Petra had been cleared for this vigorous trip by the doctor, but the two men had no such luck. Secretly, Levi was positive that the doctor had only sent Erd along so that he would keep Auruo in check, hoping the two polar-opposite personalities would balance out. Still, they were not yet ready to travel by horseback, and instead they had left yesterday in a cart to make the journey. Without their two comrades the group was not only lacking its splash of colorful language but also the insurance of two more fighters in an emergency. If it came to a fight, Levi wasn't sure if his companions would be able to hold. Everyone, including himself, was still recovering from the wounds they had received in the forest.

About an hour of galloping later, Levi's patience had been worn thin. It was a sweltering day, and his hurt arm was hurting, though he would continue to deny that it did until the injury killed him. Only he was forced to carry a second person on his horse, and it was awkward as hell. The faster the pack traveled, the more strain it put on him to keep her upright. He had been wrong; even knocked out cold the girl was a pain in his ass. For the third time, Levi called for the others to slow to a trot, providing a small rest as they passed by the outskirts of a town.

He had been twisting his torso in a stretch as an additional horse pulled into view. A trail of dust was left in its wake as the horse was pushed to its limits to catch up with the convoy. Sensing a possible source of danger, Levi pushed aside his pain to focus on escaping. Escape was truly the only option with the condition of his team. His back was screaming out, but Levi still started to signal the group to return to full speed. The signal was stopped short, though, when the man riding out to meet them was recognized.

"Daddy!" Petra let out a squeal and stopped her horse entirely, forcing the others to stop as well. When caught up, father and daughter ran to take each other in a bone-breaking hug. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"Well, when you told me you were going to HQ I thought I should come see you off! Sweetheart, I just had to come after what happened on the last expedition," the man said, ruffling her hair lovingly. Levi was suddenly very alert and walked his horse around so that the girl behind him was partially hidden. He hadn't had any say in what the other scouts had told their families, but he didn't expect any of them to let out what actually happened in the forest. The man turned away from his daughter to where Levi's horse stood. The Corporal was now more aware of the soft breathing on his neck than ever. Luckily, Petra's father completely ignored the titan shifter, instead staring thankfully at Levi.

"Thank you so much for saving my daughter. I can't even begin to show how grateful I am!" The man sauntered over to put his hand on Levi's free shoulder. "I always knew you were a good kid. Perfect for my Petra. You have my full approval, kid."

Levi was thrown by the man's heartfelt statement, and looking over to Petra he could see her blushing hard. "Er, thanks, I guess."

Petra's dad puffed out his chest, patting Levi on the shoulder. "You are welcome." It wasn't until then that he saw the hooded head resting on Levi's other shoulder. Her face wasn't visible, but the long hair spilling out of the hood was a dead giveaway. Because his daughter had been in the Levi's Unit for several years, he had come to know just about everyone that ranked high enough to travel with Levi. Yet, he didn't know of anyone in the Scouting Legion with hair that long. "Who's she?"

Swiftly, Levi maneuvered his stead away from the man and also dodged his question by addressing his soldiers instead. "Well, if that's all, we've got to be moving on. Move out!"

"Bye, Dad," Petra choked out, still burning red in embarrassment.

"Take care, sweety! Daddy loves you!" The horses left in a hurry, and her dad was left behind in a cloud of kicked-up dirt, confused but satisfied that he had been able to reach the Corporal. Shrugging, he went to remount his dappled horse. He leisurely rode back to the close by town, smiling at the thought of seeing his little girl happily married off to a caring husband.

Levi was far past caring, though, dropping swear words without a second thought. "You told him where we were going?!" he shouted over his shoulder at Petra.

Petra shrunk backwards, realizing this whole run-in to be because of her mistake. "He asked! He was just worried after I went to tell him about the last expedition, and I thought it would seem suspicious if I didn't tell him anything this time! I just said we were going to the old Headquarters for some confidential stuff! That's all!"

Levi was painfully grinding his teeth together. His words came out in a strangled hiss, letting out all of his pent up frustration. "The whole secret to keeping people from knowing about this mission is _keeping people from knowing about it_! Nobody outside of the people that saw her should be told _anything_! If anybody feels the need to blab, let me know and I'll cut your tongue out personally. Are we clear?!"

There were mumbled replies of "crystal" from everyone, and Petra just responded with silent acknowledgement. Then, among the responses to Levi's outburst, came the sound of chuckling. Chuckling that was really close to his ear.

A skidding of hooves brought Levi's horse to a hazardous stop that caused the surrounding scouts to quickly circle back to their leader.

"Geez, I hate shots..." The muffled complaint came from none other than the titan shifter's mouth. Her speech was garbled, but distinguishable. Levi's head whipped around just in time for her to lift her head from his shoulder. The movement had pushed her over the edge, however, and she ungracefully careened backwards over the horse, held only in place by the straps attaching her to the saddle. Corporal Rivaille's eyes widened even more as the girl continued to speak and move when she should still be very much unconscious. Mumbled nonsense came out as her hands clumsily searched for something to help pull herself up. One hand accidentally landed on a sharp hook from the saddle straps, and blood started pooling in her palm. "Ouch!... Guess I'm still a bit out of it..."

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU AWAKE?!" Levi screamed, blowing out every eardrum in a mile radius. Seething, he turned on Hanji. "_You_! You said it would work for six hours! It's only been one!"

Hanji was stuttering, dumbfounded. "I-It should! I've seen it used countless times for surgeries! I don't know what's wrong with it!"

A hand then lashed out to pull the titan shifter up by her collar. Face to face, Levi brought himself to look down scaldingly at her despite him actually being slightly shorter. Levi could see that her eyes were still hazy, almost as if they were in a fog, but the sharp clarity that was usually there was returning rapidly. "What did you do?!"

"Nothing."

"Don't you bullshit me! How are you not still under?!"

An impish grin suddenly broke out on the girl's face as her green eyes came out of their fog. She held up her bleeding hand that fast-working steam was already healing. "Titan blood. It can stop bleeding, heal injuries," the girl then lifted a finger to where Levi had stabbed her with the syringe, "and it gets rid of impurities in the bloodstream a lot faster than human blood."

By this time, all of the scouts were close enough to see the extremely awake titan shifter, so Levi's mouth wasn't the only one that fell open slightly. He made sure to clench his jaw closed before turning forward again and sinking his heels into the horse's sides to start moving again. Levi had purposely caused his horse to jerk forward in the hopes the girl would accidentally bite her tongue like Auruo had done on several occasions. She didn't, so Levi growled out, "Then go to sleep. I know you can make yourself do it, so sleep and don't wake up until we get there." Nothing was going as he planned, and at this point Levi just wanted all of this to stop.

The girl completely ignored him, opting to instead unhook herself from the saddle and turn around so that she was facing backwards on the horse. She wasn't deluded enough to think she could escape without knowing which way to go and having five equipped soldiers at the ready to chase her down. She settled to just look around at the scenic forest they had just passed into. Her back was against Levi's, and she could feel hatred radiating off of him in waves. From her new vantage point, all of the other scouts' faces were visible. "So these are the only people that know about me, huh? Wait, no, the older blonde guy and the two younger male scouts are missing, but they know. Oh, and her dad knew, so you guys must be doing a terrible job at controlling keeping me secret."

She could feel Levi stiffen at the last comment. _She's been awake for some time now and heard Petra's dad. Dammit! I tried so hard to handle this, and it all keeps getting fucked up!_ "Shut up, and go to sleep."

The girl tilted her head back, taking a glance at Levi's face before turning back to the other scouts. "See that?" she asked, pointing at Levi. "That's what hitting a nerve looks like." Eren and Hanji broke out into fits of laughter, as did Petra who had been trying to stay professional after her earlier mistake, but she ended up failing, nonetheless. Even Mikasa had to cover her snort of amusement by coughing into her scarf.

"Shut up, and go to sleep."

She kept ignoring him. "Guess you're a control-freak on top of being sadistic. You seem like the type that likes to pretend they have more control than they actually do."

"Shut up, and go to sleep."

"Betcha he probably didn't even think to bring another one of those fancy syringes in case something went wrong," the girl said, sneaking a peek at Levi who tensed up even more.

"Shut up, and go to sleep."

"That's a unanimous yes." More laughter.

"Shut up, and go to sleep."

Directing her voice back to Levi, she dropped into a mock whisper that was still loud enough for everyone to hear. "Hey, just a bit of advice: the whole secret to acting like you have control of a situation is _actually having control_. It doesn't work if I can see through you."

"_Shut up, and go to sleep, dammit!_"

The titan shifter finally acknowledged the Corporal's repetitive demand. "No. I've never been on a horse before. I'm gonna stay awake and enjoy this."

Levi made no response, and both fell mute, leaving the four remaining scouts to shift uncomfortably in their saddles. Their Corporal had been beaten at his own game yet again. It went unsaid that nobody would be talking for the rest of the trip, or else face becoming a verbal and physical punching bag for Levi. Things would also be tense tonight, no doubt. That fact was solidified when the girl opened her mouth one last time before shutting up for the rest of the ride.

"Karma's a bitch. Deal with it."

_This ride just got a whole lot longer_.

~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~

There was no protesting from the titan shifter as she was chained in the basement level of the Scouting Legion Headquarters. In their two day absence, modifications had been made to convert the basement into a functional prison. The girl was free to walk about only the farthest half of the cell, for that was as far as the chains attached to her wrist cuffs would allow. The only pieces of furniture present were a bed, a toilet, a privacy screen that Petra had been nice enough to supply, and a row of chairs placed across from the bed, out of the prisoner's range.

Only Levi and Hanji were currently seated facing the girl. Everyone else was getting settled in their rooms or asleep from the taxing trip. It wasn't as if these two weren't tired, as well. The ride had worn them out in more ways than one, and that reminder alone caused Levi to reach inside his jacket to take a sip from his flask. A few moments passed when no alcohol touched his lips until he registered the container to be empty. He had drunk the entire thing during the ride here.

Sitting next to him, but off in a world entirely of her own, Hanji was trembling with uncontrolled excitement, much like a small puppy would. Sighing, he leaned back and tuned out Hanji as she started to babble.

"My name is Hanji Zoe, and this is Levi, er, Corporal Rivaille... Um, what do you want to be called, Levi?"

"Corporal or sir," Levi responded without opening his eyes that he had closed.

The girl nodded. "Nice to meet you, Hanji... Levi." The corner of the titan shifter's mouth turned up when she caught the subtle twitch of Levi's right eye.

Levi's disgruntled behavior was overshadowed by Hanji being absolutely ecstatic at having her name spoken by the titan shifter. "Oh, wow! It's so nice to meet you, too! I've been waiting for something like this for years! I want to know everything about you! Oh, no, that sounds too creepy. I'm not super creepy, I promise! Don't be scared of me, I just really want to be your friend! We'll be hanging out a lot, anyway! I can show you all of my research, and you can tell me about yourself, maybe even give me a DNA sample! How about a bit of your hair? No, wait, you probably like your hair... How about a tooth? Eren's grew back right after, yours should do the same—"

"Hanji," Levi cut off Hanji's rambling. "First off, that is creepy as hell. Second, we've got actual questions to ask, so get on with it."

Hanji snapped out of whatever scientific trance that had her on the edge of her seat, leaning forward at the slightly disturbed kid in front of her. "Right! Sorry about that! Levi and I will be asking you basic questions about yourself. Answer all of them and we can go to sleep without any problems." The true message was pretty clear. Hanji was here to ask the questions, and Levi was just there to make sure any "problems" were taken care of. Nodding, the titan shifter promised she wouldn't be too difficult.

Hanji beamed with confidence. "Okay, first question! What's your age?"

"Twenty," she answered, but in a way that made it obvious she had already mentally checked out. These questions would probably be concerning medical information. Nothing she didn't mind giving out. The questions might be about her, but they weren't personal.

Levi was focused on the nature of the questions, as well. He wasn't listening to a single answer the titan shifter complacently gave. What was the point? The questions she was answering were dumb. Maybe Hanji would find the girl's blood type to be useful in case he cut the girl up too badly, but every other question had no point. Levi cracked an eye open to look over the list of questions that Hanji was filling out. A frown etched itself deeper with every question he read. _Date of birth? October 17th. Any head injuries? No. Diagnosed with any mental illnesses? No. Undergone any major surgeries? Yes. If so, what kind? No comment. _It appeared to be a form that one would normally fill out for a check-up. _It would probably just be easier to track down this girl's medical records_, Levi noted, planning to have someone gather any paperwork on the girl and send it here within the next few days.

Without warning, Levi jolted up, taking the list from Hanji and double checking it. The second time reading it through didn't cause the question he was looking for to magically appear.

"Something wrong, Levi?" Hanji asked, not expecting the Corporal to take an interest in her area of expertise.

"Name?" The word alone brought the girl back into focus. Levi had been watching her carefully when he spoke, and he could practically see invisible barriers shoot up around the girl. He had been correct; she avoided the question the first time around.

Hanji lit up when Levi pointed out what was missing. "Of course, how forgetful of me! Sorry, I'm so used to giving names to titans myself that I didn't assume you already had one! What's your name, dear?"

"No." That question was personal.

"It's not a yes or no question. Why won't you give your name?" Levi interrogated.

"Would you name an animal headed for the slaughter-house?"

"No, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with anything," she countered. "It's called keeping your distance. Up until now we've basically been strangers without any attachments, but that changes if I give you my name. If you don't get attached to anything or anyone, then you don't stand to lose something."

The girl then looked pointedly at Levi. In her eyes he could see the confidence behind her words. He had once been convinced of that same logic: do what you please, and as long as you look out for yourself without caring for anything else, then you won't end up hurt. That had been back in his criminal days, and since then he had completely changed his perspective. The Scouting Legion had become something he could dedicate himself to. Something that he was willing to risk getting hurt over. That had been what had changed him. What he couldn't understand, though, was what had changed this girl. There was no way she would have ended up in this situation if she hadn't been willing to sacrifice herself for something. Somehow, she now stood to lose her life, and Levi had never fully asked himself what she had refused to abandon having already known the likely price. What could she possibly be willing to hold onto through everything? Eyes locked, the answer became clear.

Her humanity.

It was odd to think that a titan—a creature that would kill without hesitation—would ever be capable of having something as significant as humanity, but there was nothing else to describe what this girl was trying desperately not to lose. Levi could actually sympathize with the girl. If anything, he let her have an ounce of his respect. It took a lot of guts to be so dedicated to holding onto your humanity that you would risk jumping into a life or death fight just for the sake of it being the right thing to do.

Tracing the design on his silver flask, Levi sunk back into his chair. Maybe just once he could let this name thing slide. She had saved his life after all, and there was no way in hell he would ever thank her, so this could qualify as his one act of gratitude in place of that. He would wait until she gave her name on her own free will.

"You aren't an animal, and you aren't headed for the slaughter house, so quit acting like you are." For once, the girl shut up. In some twisted light, she supposed that could be seen as a nice remark. Coming from Levi it was considered nice, anyway. "Fine. If you don't want to use the one you already have, we'll give you another one. I'll get your real name out of you eventually, but until then we need something to call you by."

Excited clapping brought the two out of their staring competition. "Can I pick a name? I'm really good at it!" Hanji said, much like a small child trying to gain the teacher's attention. She was almost bouncing out of her chair, as well.

"No, we don't need any more weird, ancient names of cannibals, but thanks for offering. Let's go with something a little more motivating," Levi smirked, formulating the perfect way to get her real name as soon as possible. Just because he wouldn't force her name out of her now didn't mean he wasn't above humiliating the girl into coughing it up. "You strike me as a Princess or a Diamond."

Her face fell. A flash of regret was visible until complete misery took over. At the hands of her enemy, she was unable to do a single thing to keep Levi from picking a ridiculous name for her. "Oh, fuck no. That's low."

Levi chuckled and leaned back into his chair. "Low, sure thing. I never said I'd play fair. I think it's quite funny, actually. Not those ones, maybe? How about Sparkle? No? Rainbow? No, wait. Sunshine. Sunshine's a winner. What do you think Hanji?" Levi, leering smugly, shifted to look at the other scout. Hanji's expression had become pained just from watching the titan shifter get progressively more dejected as Levi recommended names.

"Even I think those are terrible, and I named a titan Bean." Levi gave no mind to Hanji's comment, getting up to leave.

"Either way, I get to make the final call, so I guess Sunshine it is until I get a real answer," he said as he unlocked the door. He was walking to the stairs, flipping the silver flask between his hands when he stopped dead in his tracks. A sinister grin broke out as he held the now empty container, a reminder of his painful ride here. "Wait... I've got it..." Twisting back, Levi held up the silver flask for the girl to see clearly.

"Karma."

With that, the Corporal started taking the stairs two at a time out of there, smirking to himself all the while. "YOU BASTARD!" He could hear the furious cry distinctly as he left. Hanji had finished all the questions she had needed, so she caught up with the Corporal as he walked away from the muffled screams of the girl that had just been dubbed Karma.

"I actually like that name. Why'd you pick it?" she asked. Levi's smirk got bigger, happy that he could finally hit the girl where it hurt. Maybe waiting for her real name wouldn't be quite as hard if it meant getting to rub his victory in the girl's face constantly.

"Because karma's a bitch, so it's only fitting," he snickered, more amused than he had been in a long time. "And if she's got a problem with it, then she can just deal with it."

~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~

The meeting had been inevitable. They had gotten absolutely nowhere. No progress was being made whatsoever. It was only their third night staying in the castle, but if something wasn't done now, they would not get any results. Everyone had gathered late at night in the Dining Hall to try to find a solution. Levi was seated at the head of the table, flanked on either side by his three squad members. Erd was as composed as ever, but Auruo was absolutely hopeless as he continuously tried to convince Petra that she should spend every waking moment by his side to nurse him back to health. Mikasa was in her standard position by Eren, unhappy that they had been dragged into this situation just because Eren was also a titan shifter. Well, technically only Eren had been dragged into this dilemma, but whatever concerned Eren also concerned Mikasa. Hanji, clipboard in hand, called the meeting to order.

"Okay, listen up! I need you all to pay attention if we're gonna get this sorted out." Every face turned to look at Hanji, except for Levi who had his feet kicked up on the table, head tilted back, and his eyes closed. She only knew he was at least listening from the way his eyebrow arched up, prompting her to continue. Slamming her hands to the table, Hanji began the great spiel she had prepared.

"We need a new approach."

"Yeah, no shit," Auruo rudely cut in.

Hanji let out a frustrated sigh. "The tactics we're using aren't giving any results." She held up the clipboard. All of the questions except for the ones asked the first night were unanswered. "She's given us absolutely nothing these past two days. Zacklay is coming to check in soon, and having nothing to show for after the trouble we went through is as good as signing Karma's death certificate."

Levi's mouth turned up at the nickname. He had gotten everyone to start calling the titan shifter Karma and was quite pleased with the result. The other scouts would use the name minimally in front of the girl, but they used it freely the minute they were away from her. Levi made sure to abuse the use of the nickname in front of the girl, which would always bring on a verbal war that would've undoubtedly led to blows if she had not been chained up. These fights had become a routine of sorts. Hanji was right about them not getting any results, and the biggest person to blame for this was Levi. In his defense, he truly did try to get answers to some of those questions. Kind of. It was just that every time he would ask something Karma would snap back with enough sarcasm to drown a normal man. Levi wasn't somebody that could tolerate being mouthed back at, so he would try to put her in her place. Things would only get worse from there, and the arguments would start playing in a never-ending loop.

It was completely not his fault, though. Not at all.

"Levi, whatever you are trying to do isn't working," Hanji said flat out. She had put up with his bullshit strategy for long enough, so she was past beating around the bush.

In an instant Levi's eyes were open and he, too, had slammed a hand on the table. "It's her, not me! I'll force the answers out of her soon enough! My plan is perfect! She just doesn't respond correctly!" he huffed indignantly.

Erd managed to cross his arms, overcoming the pain that protested in his right arm when he did so. "You can't just intimidate everyone into getting what you want, you know."

"Tch, everybody cracks eventually. She just is harder to break. I don't see what the problem is! We're authorized to torture her, and since we haven't been getting results why not start today?"

At the mention of torture from Levi, Eren flinched like he had been kicked in the face. Mikasa scowled, as well. _Had this been how Levi had planned to get answers out of Eren, too?_

"_No!_" Petra chimed in, not wanting any part in deliberately hurting someone. "That's the exact reason why we are in this mess! You are pressing too hard for answers! I went in to watch you questioning her yesterday and, from what I saw, that just won't work! Every time you try to push, she'll just push back! You'll get nowhere like that!"

Hanji was now biting her pen in thought. "You're right," she took Petra's side. Levi's eyes narrowed in detestment, but Hanji brushed him to the side. "Maybe it's because of Levi's methods," she hypothesized. "I mean, all she has to guarantee her life with is the information she knows. If someone were to try to rip every answer out, then she's bound to get protective and not respond. Maybe we should try a nicer approach." She then looked toward Levi, someone she knew to be absolutely incapable of being nice. "Should we try having somebody else besides Levi question her?"

"What?!" the Corporal spat out, getting to his feet in a flash. "What do you mean someone besides me? I'm in charge of this!"

Hanji broke. "You two are at each other's throats every second! We need someone she's actually willing to give answers to, and that's not you!" She didn't waver under the icy glare Levi sent her way. When Levi sat back in his chair, Hanji let out a tense breath.

"Good. So we're on the same page." Hanji then looked around at everyone sitting at the table, trying to figure out the best person to get Karma to open up. When her eyes landed on him, she was certain she had found the right choice. "We need someone who she has a mutual understanding with."

Every scout turned to look at Eren.

"Me?" Eren asked bewilderedly, pointing to himself.

Auruo rolled his eyes at the clueless kid who, unfortunately enough, was the current hope for the remainder of humanity. "No, Miss All Things Good and Happy standing next to you. Of course you, dumbfuck."

Eren's cheeks reddened at his blunder. "Oh... Well, I just don't think I'm qualified for this kind of stuff. I wouldn't even know what to do!"

"You won't be alone," Petra piped in supportingly. "We all can come be there to back you up if you'd like." She was actually really hoping Eren would want everyone there, since nobody had really been able to see Karma for more than two minutes because Levi would chase everyone out.

"Yeah, that would help," Eren said with a nod, but he was starting to wring his hands together nervously. He and Mikasa were the only people that hadn't spoken with Karma. The idea of speaking with another titan shifter was exhilarating, but was terrifying at the same time. He was bursting with questions, the majority of which would probably sound stupid. Karma could probably already tell he was a newbie, and he didn't want to give her the impression that he was a complete idiot in addition. She would have the answers, though. Something in Eren got a vibe off of her that she knew all the ins and outs of being a titan shifter. But those answers would be truthful, and suddenly Eren wasn't sure if he could handle the truth of what kind of monster he had become. Both thrilled and scared, Eren knew he would have to handle the questions he gave carefully. "What questions should I ask?"

Hanji gave a spirited smile, happy to be finally making progress. "Just go by this list that I made." She handed him the blank sheet that Levi had failed to fill out. "If you feel that any of the questions are too out there, then feel free to skip them. Go with your gut, and if you're in doubt, ask about stuff that you want know about her as a titan shifter." Hanji then grasped Eren's hand reassuringly. "Try to get her to answer something, okay?"

"Uh, okay. I'll try my best," Eren said, almost like he was attempting to convince himself.

"Great!" Hanji said, exuding happiness. "Meeting adjourned!"

Calling it a night, everybody filed out of the Dining Hall. Eren and Mikasa were the last two left behind as Levi grumpily shuffled off to bed. A hand came to rest lightly on Eren's shoulder, bringing him to tear his eyes away from the paper he was looking at in a trance.

"You'll be fine. I believe in you." The second part was said so quietly that Eren almost didn't hear it. Her words had been muffled because she had started speaking into her scarf. Eren felt a tender smile tug on his face when given her confidence in him.

"Thanks." He folded up the sheet of paper, and the two of them left the dim room together. The boy was still worried on what tomorrow would hold in store for him, but knowing that he would have both this paper and his comrades to fall back on caused him to have a peaceful night's rest.

~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~

The paper had proven to be absolutely useless, and it seemed the other scouts were only present to witness his failure instead of providing comfort or support. Eren's hands were shaking, as was the paper he was holding. He could feel Karma watching him, waiting for him to pick another of the dumb questions on the sheet of paper. She had already shot down all of the ones he had asked previously, and Eren honestly would've done the same thing if he was in her position. For the hundredth time Eren gulped nervously. _This one? No. That's stupid... What the hell does her diet as a human have to do with anything? Does Hanji expect her to say she drank magic water as a child and became a titan shifter?!_

Eren tried looking around at his teammates for help, but Hanji had left a while ago, and everyone else was looking anywhere except where Eren was painfully struggling. Even Mikasa was only able to give support by merely standing next to him. Levi was sitting triumphantly in a chair that was separate from the other ones. Despite being told not to show up for at least today, he had come anyway, and was now very happy that he did. Watching Eren fail epicly made him want to rub it in that he had done a better job at interrogating Karma, but the Corporal remained quiet. The only reason Hanji had let him in here was on the condition that he wouldn't say anything. Luckily, that condition didn't restrict sitting smugly, or else he would've been thrown out long ago. He had gotten really close once. Hanji had started dragging him out of the cell because he hadn't been able to stop laughing when Eren had asked if becoming a titan shifter was contagious.

Eren was all alone in this. No help was coming his way, and winging it was starting to look like a pretty decent option.

"Fuck this." Staring at the paper was now making him physically in pain, so Eren finally gave up, crumpled up the sheet, and chucked it off into the far corner of the cell. As soon as he did so, Karma broke out into applause.

"_YES!_ Thank goodness! I've been wanting to do that for the past three days!" A smile stretched out on her face, reaching all the way up to her eyes. "Okay, now that that's out of the way we can actually talk." The girl leaned forward, earnestly watching Eren. She hadn't gotten to speak with him yet—she had a feeling he had been avoiding her—and it was about time that she got to. "I'm guessing you've probably only been shifting for a few months now, am I right?"

Eren lost his voice momentarily. Everything had changed in the blink of an eye, and while the subject now was about him, it was still a drastic improvement from the past hour of questioning. Levi wasn't so smug anymore. He had never gotten Karma to go so far as to initiate a conversation by asking a question herself. Unless, that is, "why don't you go take a long walk off a short pier?" counts.

Eren was no longer speechless, and he decided to just go with the flow on this one. "Yeah, how can you tell?"

Karma grinned playfully. "I can sense it. Plus, you fight like a nine-year-old."

"Then I guess this nine-year-old was able to knock you on your ass!" Eren chided, remembering vaguely sending the Long-Haired Titan flying. But as he looked at the girl in front of him, chained up because she had decided to jump in and save his friends, he started to feel bad. Guilt became overwhelming when he realized that she probably would've been able to beat up the Female Titan and get away scott-free if he hadn't decided to shift and play hero. He had only gotten in her way.

"Um, speaking about the forest... I'm sorry. About everything." Eren hung his head a bit. He could still hear the Long-Haired Titan's yell as she was pushing him away from fighting the Female Titan. "You were trying to tell me to go, weren't you?... I should've listened."

The girl had been about to insult the kid and say he was an amateur, but his sincere apology stopped her. Eyes softening, she couldn't help but go easy on the kid. She had been in his shoes at one point.

"You can't change the past. All you can do is grow from it." She would've jokingly slugged him in the shoulder if she was able to. "So quit moping over it, or I'll knock you on your ass twice as hard when I get out of here." Eren gave a small laugh and a nod at the reassuring _when_ and not _if_.

He would've continued talking with Karma, possibly even asking her for advice, if he had not been interrupted by Hanji's hurried footsteps. On any other occasion, the woman would probably be elated and geek-out to see both of her titan shifters getting along, but not this time. She had a manila envelope in her hand, and that seemed to be the source of her agitation. Walking straight past Levi, she went to hand it to Eren. Curiosity caused Eren to look at the envelope in question before tentatively opening it. He looked at it for a good minute and then his eyebrows went skyward.

Corporal Rivaille was not at all pleased at being left out on this secret. Before Hanji could react, he snatched the envelope's contents from Eren. Scanning the documents quickly, Levi looked for what had the other two so riled up.

Hanji immediately tried to steal the papers back. "Levi, don't! Let Eren handle this! Remember your condition!" Her warning was too late. Levi's eyes widened and his vice grip began crumpling the papers he held.

"What the fuck is this?!" he roared, completely throwing his promise to be mute out the window. He flipped the papers around for Karma to see. The words "Birth Records" stood out in bold print at the top of one page and on the other was a thick packet labeled "Citizen Registry." Both were things that were monitored meticulously and carefully recorded by officials because of the population crisis.

"Levi, stop it! You need to shut up and let Eren ask her! You are gonna ruin this!" Hanji pleaded desperately.

"No! I was the one that specifically asked for her records, so I get to handle this!" he snapped before he continued to address the girl sitting on the edge of her bed. "You said you were twenty. These are from the year you would've been born in," Levi said, gesturing to the birth records sheet. "All of these people are accounted for, so none of them are you. If that's the case, you either slipped through the system, or you lied about your age. I thought you might do that, so I asked for the names of all female citizens from age fifteen to twenty-five." Now he went to flip through the packet containing the hundreds upon hundreds of names. "And you're not recorded anywhere here either!" Every name was color-coded in either green, red, yellow, or blue to symbolize what branch of work the person resided in. Some had no color if they were disabled and unable to work, but they, just like every name on the list, had a check mark next to their name. The columns of check marks went uninterrupted, showing that all of these people were also accounted for by their superiors.

The scouts turned to look at Karma, not understanding how something like this was possible. Anybody that had ever passed from one gate to another had to pass inspection, and the very first step was verifying citizenship. If a person wasn't registered, they would be on the spot. Towns were usually so small that everyone knew one another, and strangers would be reported and registered. This made it so that criminals could not easily hide from the law, and every person within these walls was recorded. Not having a single trace of birth or citizenship meant only one thing.

She had never set foot inside these walls.

"You aren't from here. Where the fuck did you come from?!" Levi snarled.

The girl didn't respond for quite some time, and Hanji stood frozen, fearing that Levi might have just deterred Karma from answering the most important question they had asked. After some time, Karma spoke in the most composed voice that she could manage as she suppressed a snicker. "Well, Levi, you see, when a man and a woman love each other very much—"

Levi lunged forward to strangle the girl with the chains she was wearing. "OH, YOU FUCKING BITC—" He was cut off as Hanji held him back and slammed her hand over his mouth.

"So sorry, Karma!" Hanji said sheepishly, struggling to keep Levi in place as he fought to throttle the girl. "Hey Eren, now would be a good time to _do something!_"

Eren jolted back to attention. "Oh, right!" He turned his attention to Karma who was laughing at Levi's violent reaction to her joke. "Karma," Eren called her attention back to him. He didn't know if he would get a serious response, but he took it as a good sign when Karma faced him. She gave an annoyed twitch at the nickname but raised her eyebrow for him to continue, which he did in the politest way possible. "Can you explain this? Could you tell us what place you came from, if you didn't come from here? Uh, please?"

Karma shrugged. She knew this subject would come up eventually. She also knew that if she didn't supply them any knowledge, then she wouldn't be of any use to them. This was just one of those things that had to be said if she didn't want to be killed. "Sure. Got any chalk?"

Levi stopped struggling, and his mouth fell open underneath Hanji's hand. _Sure? It was that easy?!_ Eren was also thrown by the ease of getting her to answer. "Y-Yeah. Lemme go find some."

Eren came stumbling down the stairs a minute later, holding a piece of chalk. He tossed it to Karma who got up and went over to the wall where she began to draw. Heads tilted to the side as the chalk piece traveled across the cement. At first, it looked like a circle, but then she made the top and bottom of the shape flat. She started drawing detailed blobs inside of the shape. Her hand traveled in a practiced movement, tracing the shapes from memory. When she was done drawing shapes, she started to label them.

_Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia._ The words were foreign to all of the scouts, but nobody said anything to disturb the girl from drawing.

_Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, Arctic Ocean._ Eren's eyes almost flew out of his head.

"Ocean! I know what that is! Armin showed me a book that talked about that!" Eren got up, forgetting that he shouldn't go within the perimeter of Karma's chains. He walked up to the huge picture on the wall and brushed his hand over the five oceans. "Wow... It really does cover most of this world," Eren breathed out in awe. He caught his breath before looking to Karma. "Is this _the_ World?!"

She nodded and then brought the piece of chalk up to a part of Europe. A small dot was placed there with _YOU_ inscribed above it. "This is where you guys are. It used to be called Germany." Her hand then traveled to the other side of the map she had made, and made a second dot on the coast of North America. _MALVAD,_ she wrote above the second dot. "And _this_ is where I am from."

Levi ripped himself from Hanji's grip as she was distracted by the new information. Walking over to Karma, he smacked his hand against the chalk drawing. "So what are you saying?" he asked, looking to the girl to see if she was yet again being sarcastic. She was absolutely serious. Levi stuttered as he looked back to the map that was drawn in exact detail. Hesitantly, he pointed to the second dot that Karma had drawn. _MALVAD_. He read the word carefully over and over again. _Could it really be?_

"Are you saying that other human civilization exists?"

**A/N: Loooong chapter. I tried finding a place to cut it off so it would be shorter, but then I wouldn't have squeezed in the major plot point at the end. So, readers, would you prefer shorter chapters (5,000 words or so) or longer chapters (8,000 words or so). Let me know! IMPORTANT: Karma is only a temporary name. It WILL be changed, but she just needed something to be called by for the time being (I cannot explain how hard it is just to switch between the girl, the titan shifter, the prisoner, and she). Man, I tried writing this on the 12 hour car ride home, but I found out that my writing sucks when I'm in the car. I had to go back and fix everything :/ NOT FUN, so I hope it was worth the trouble. Oh, and I chose the setting to be Germany because of the origin of Eren's name and the first sentence of the intro being in German. Also, I know that the beginning of this chapter was fairly fluffy, but it's needed for the story to be set up properly. Hopefully the ending made up for it! The next chapter has my OC's backstory, so it's gonna be pretty difficult to write and might take more time. I would love to hear what you think, so make sure to review and all that jazz!**

**Have a SUPERMEGAFOXYAWESOMEHOT day! :D**

**~THC~**


	4. Chapter Four: Malvad

****READ THE DISCLAIMER! Hajime Isayama is super double deluxe, as is Shingeki no Kyojin. I wish I owned that kind of deluxe-ness, but I don't. All I own are my OCs... Don't tell her I think that she isn't deluxe. I'm too young to die!****

**A/N: Shout outs to my readers! You guys are amazing, and I love getting feedback from you! Thanks for all of your favoriting, following, and reviewing! Super double deluxe cookies go out to Vertan Yamamoto (Yep, Levi went there! He's mean, but we love him anyway!), asdfghjkl (Thanks! Your support means the world to me!), nyancatguru (Aw! Only thirty seconds of spazzing out? Dang it, I'm gonna have to step it up! So happy you liked the sarcasm!), (Haha, well my writing usually has loooooots of words, so I'm not gonna suddenly dip down to 1,000 words lol!) , Hatsune Cybanne, Maire ( :'D You just made me cry from happiness! This fandom could really use some OC love!), iliketosmile (I'm glad you like the story being detailed because a lot of people are scared off by a ton of words. Thanks for sticking around when others would run scared! XD), sweetchill, mirageseason132, McFassy (Yeah, their relationship (or lack of) is a straaaange one. They got off on the wrong foot, and everything just kind of went downhill from there!), MikaCheshire (Haha! Glad you didn't have to wait long! Hope this backstory lives up to your expectations!), Kiyomi-Takashima (Oh, no! Sorry if I confused you, but Malvad isn't her real name, it's the name of the place she's from. But, yeah, Karma's more willing to give answers to Eren XD), Ficchii (Seriously. Karma. XD I thought of it on the spot and just couldn't resist! And, yeah, this is where I'm bringing my theory of other civilizations to life! Though, ask yourself, if it's safer on the outside, then why would Karma be here instead?... DUN DUN DUUUUNNN XP), Reiko Narukami, Cata-nee (Thank you for the three wonderful reviews! I don't want to give you an answer that's cut short, so I'll PM you :) ), HappyGoBoom, ElucidatorHJ, Yumi Miharu (Here's an update! Sorry it took some time, but this one had a lot involved in writing it. Hope it was worth the wait!), Sylph's Arrow (Good! I didn't think it could be Japan because then how would Mikasa be the only Asian left, and the only other place that made sense was Germany :D), SilverNeira, TwilightNinja00, enviious (Yeah, Levi isn't somebody to normally lose his cool, but he strikes me as the type to only be able to put up with something for so long. You know, a no-nonsense kind of guy. Karma specifically trying to piss him off is bound to push him over the edge eventually. There's more of Levi losing it in this chapter, but just keep in mind that he's been putting up with this anger building constantly for **_**days**_** now. Sorry if it seems OOC, it's just how I think he would deal with something like this over a long period of time :) ), Witch Of Illusions, LittleRedRaccoon, rnn21, Fan-Fiction-Maniac 1998, unlucky-cards (WAH! Super long review! :D I love it! I will PM you, my super double deluxe reader!), floweregg, cha24u, steffiawjiayi990921, Shiinku, and 4DarkMirror6!**

Chapter Four: Malvad

It had a heartbeat. Levi could feel the thrum of life underneath his fingertips as he touched the map. The shocks of heat it sent through him was seeping into his veins, slowly taking over his heartbeat with its own. Looking at the name of the town, Malvad, Levi was overtaken by the strange feelings coursing through him. In all his years as a member of the Scouting Legion, he was always working towards something. What this goal was exactly, Levi had never been able to figure out. But with this glimpse of the outside world, something every scout would literally kill to see, he could again grasp at the reason he had to continue fighting.

There was something out there.

They weren't alone in this hell.

_There was hope._

In his moment of elation, Levi could barely catch Karma's nod, a confirmation to his earlier question. Upon seeing her nod, he also realized he was unnaturally close to the wall that had the chalk drawing on it. Levi took a step back, but his hand did not leave the rough cement surface. When he was able to tear his eyes away from the foreign town's place on the map, he finally took in the wide expanse that was the World. All of that open land... He could never imagine being able to scratch the surface of exploring it. Was anybody capable of that? Who knows. There could be a world of endless possibilities out there. The thought of there being more in this world than meets the eye caused Levi to wonder out loud.

"Is this all there is? Are we the only two, or is there more?" The question had been more to himself, but Karma answered it anyway.

"No, there are many. The World is just a lot bigger than you'd think. I've been inside about eight of them. They're not common, but they aren't on the verge of extinction either, and yours is most certainly not the last one." Words that would normally be comforting came like a harsh slap to the face. Levi's face jerked to the side at hearing the words come from _her_.

Before anyone could blink, Levi whipped out a pocketknife and pressed it against Karma's neck. Breath knocked out of her and back pressed up against the wall, the girl looked down savagely at the boy who was a twitch away from slicing open her neck, a lethal wound that not even titan blood could counter in time. The threatening action had triggered some sort of animalistic survival instinct from Karma; her eyes held a thirst for violence, and she bared her teeth in a vicious snarl. Flames raging in Levi's glare, though, were fierce enough to match any monster Karma could unleash.

"And why should I believe a single word that comes out of _your_ mouth?" His words came out cool as ever, but there was an edge that held some bite to it. The blade pushed harder against Karma's neck and started to draw a fine trickle of blood. Any pain was not visible on the girl's face. She was solely focused on matching the heated steel eyes that were piercing her as effectively as the blade. "You didn't answer a damn question that I asked you, and now you're spilling your guts! If you expect me to trust you on your word, then you're deluded! People earn my trust, and you haven't earned shit!"

Levi's comrades were at a loss. They hadn't yet fully seen a fight between the two opposing youths. The situation's severity wasn't shown by his threat to hurt Karma; he gave those kind of threats all the time. All it took for them to get the picture was Levi's mounting volume. Levi had three levels of anger, and with each corresponded an action. Unless someone wanted to be caught on the receiving end of his anger, this was the signal to run for all they're worth. First came his silent frustration, and that went hand in hand with his eye twitching. Next was visible irritation. This was when he became outwardly grumpy, and it was a type of grumpy where he let _everyone_ clearly know that he was grumpy. The end result of his anger building up was Levi would start to raise his voice. Jumping instantly to this third level of anger was a bad sign. To the scouts knowledge, he had only ever reached this level of anger this quickly a handful of times. As the strength of his words reached a crescendo, they became verbal punches, and if Levi didn't get calmed down or stopped immediately, those punches would become physical fast.

Karma growled back through her bared teeth. "You calling me a liar?"

"Damn straight I am! You've probably just been sitting there all this time trying to come up with a bullshit story to save yourself and make us keep you around!" Levi's tone continued to elevate, and Hanji was torn between her common sense telling her to get out of there and the urge to step in to stop this before it got too serious. Karma being chained up wouldn't keep Levi from beating her up, it would just make her an easier target. Not backing down wasn't helping Karma's case either.

A short bark of laughter got past the knife cutting into her neck. "Wouldn't you wish I was lying! Then you'd actually have an excuse to kill me! I'm not dumb enough to stand here and lie!"

"Oh! But you're dumb enough to spend three days pissing me off by not answering _anything_, and now you decide to open up to Eren instead?! _I'm_ the Corporal, _I'm_ in charge, and _I'm_ not buying this crap!"

Karma snapped. Every time she had dealt with Levi she was able to more or less keep her head. It was her life on the line, so keeping a level tone all those other times had been key. This, however, was not one of those other times. "And that's exactly why I didn't talk to _you!_ I stalled until I finally got someone who would fucking _listen!_ You'll only listen to what you concerns you, and _he's_ ready to hear anything I have to say!" She then leaned into the knife, causing steaming blood to stream down and coat Levi's hand. Her tone when she spoke again was scaldingly cold.

"If you're not willing to _listen_, then I'm not going to _speak!_"

They stayed like that for a good amount of time. Levi's knife continued to bleed out Karma who stood there and allowed it. The standoff was brought to an end when Levi retracted his blade and took a step back. He wasn't backing down. Not at all. He was going to get what he wanted in the first place: answers. She wasn't going to give a response unless he listened to everything that she had to say. But if hearing her out was the price of getting what he wanted, then Levi supposed he would manage somehow. His volume was back to its normal level when he spoke again.

"I want the story." His voice was choked from the strain to not continue their yelling fit, but it was still commanding. Habitually, he started cleaning his blood-stained hand with a cloth, trying to keep himself in check. Levi was having to force back all of the anger that was trying to break out of him. Any more arguing would be childish, and the unyielding determination in Karma's eyes told him that if he didn't suck up his frustration now, then there wouldn't be a later. Not listening now would be the end of it. There would be no other opportunity. "The _full_ story," he said threateningly.

Karma had still not moved from where she stood in a small puddle of her own blood. Her neck had repaired itself the minute the Corporal's knife was removed, but the blood that had already been spilled remained, effectively ruining the white shirt of the Scouting Legion uniform she had been loaned. She made no move to do anything about it, though. She wasn't going to do anything until Levi made it clear how he planned to go forward.

Levi could only mumble out the words. "I'm willing to listen for however long it takes."

A heavy sigh of what could possibly be relief escaped Karma. Her steady, unrelenting posture crumbled, and she gave a soft nod. While there was no doubt in her mind that she would've continued fighting against Levi if he had not given in, there was no denying it that struggling through these past three days had sapped her of her strength. Putting up defenses every time someone was around her had Karma exhausted to the point of collapsing. She half heartedly continued keeping her guard up, though. Karma walked over to her stiff bed and sat down, wrapping herself in a nest of covers. This was the greatest luxury she could afford right now; relaxation wasn't within her grasp yet. She still wasn't in the clear. She still needed to convince the scouts of this seemingly impossible story being true.

Motioning for everyone to sit, Karma closed her eyes and let herself rewind the clocks, going back to the repressed memory of the place that she could only hope to forget.

_~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~_

_There are few things in my childhood that I can look back on fondly. Growing up in Malvad was one of those situations where things were shit, but you didn't really realize things were shit. I don't think I fully understood how bad things were until that day._

_ I guess if I had to be grateful for one thing, it would be knowing Vanessa and Lillium._

_~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~_

_ "Yeah, you'd better run!" A girl in an expensive flowery dress chased the neighborhood bullies out of the grimy alley, long hair fluttering behind her. Gunning it, she caught up with them and grabbed the kid that was the ringleader by his shirt collar. Throwing him to the ground, she tussled with him for a minute before she had him pinned down to the grubby cobblestone street. By this time her dress was covered in mud and filth, but that was the last of her concerns._

_ "Apologize!" she ordered. The boy promptly responded by spitting in her face. She dug her knee into the guy's stomach and turned his head to the side so that he faced a bruised kid cowering at the end of the alley._

_ "Ah! Ouch!" The pinned boy cried out at the force of her pulling his hair. The girl pointed out at the beaten up kid with her free hand._

_ "You know what you did! Say you're sorry now, or I'll reach down your throat and pull the words right outta your voice box!"_

_ His head was slammed against the ground hard before he caved. "S... S-Sorry!" he coughed out at the boy he had been picking on earlier._

_ The girl holding him down grinned like a lunatic. "Good!" She got up, letting the boy underneath her escape after his friends. Proud of her accomplishment, she strode over to the timid kid with her hands placed victoriously behind her head. When she reached the boy that couldn't be a day over nine, she ruffled his hair._

_ "You were real brave back there, kid. No tears or anything!" The girl then sunk down to his eye level and gave a gentle smile. "Stay outta trouble, okay?" Lifting her hand to leave, she noticed the shallow cut by his hairline. Her mouth tugged into a frown. "You should go have a doctor check that out, kid."_

_ The boy's head turned down as he looked away from her. It dawned on the girl that he, like many others in this part of town, probably wasn't able to afford going to the hospital. She gave him a nudge in the direction of the back street's exit. "Go to the hospital," she commanded sternly. The boy looked up at her and opened his mouth to say that he couldn't, but was cut off when the girl spoke over him._

"_Tell them Vanessa sent you."_

_He swallowed his refusal when he heard that name. Everybody knew that name. Looking up at the girl, he took in the carefully groomed locks that had become tangled and her ruined fancy dress. It was her, no doubt about it. Scrambling to his feet, the boy nodded frantically and bolted. He then froze when he was a step away from leaving the alleyway. Turning back, he bowed his head in gratitude._

"_Th-Thank you!" he stuttered out before disappearing around the street bend. Vanessa let out a thousand watt smile and waved after him with both hands._

"_Hahaha! You're welcome!" When the sound of retreating footsteps stopped and a peaceful silence was restored, she swiveled around to look at where I sat on the sidelines._

"_And that, Sis, is how you properly break up a fight!" Vanessa said triumphantly, pointing to me where I sat watching._

"_And that's also how you make a kid piss his pants! Geez, don't go freaking people out like that!" I jested, but I couldn't hide my awe at Vanessa's courage to dive in and stop the bullies from having their fun. Watching my sister do these random heroic acts never ceased to amaze me. Hopping off the cold lid of the trashcan, I was instantly ambushed by Vanessa. She swung her arm around my shoulders, tousled my hair, and started dragging us both out of the alley._

"_The only thing that's gonna scare people off is your face!" Vanessa joked and playfully pushed me._

"_Coming from you that's rich!" I said, pushing her back as we came out of the dark alleyway._

_As we passed into the sunlight, a shadow darting away caught my eye. I glanced up briefly to the rooftop where I was able to see the broad back of a retreating figure. I knew it was him. He had been watching us again. He had been doing this more often recently, and his every appearance put me more on edge. I didn't say anything, though. Maybe I should have._

"_Oh, don't be jealous just because I'm far more beautiful than you!" Vanessa said as she flourished her hands exaggeratedly, completely oblivious to the person that had been shadowing us. I was tempted to say that we looked almost exactly the same, but she looked down at her messy outfit before I could. "Dang it, Mom and Dad are gonna kill me if I show up for the ceremony like this. Do you think Lilli would be able to fix me up in time so they won't notice?"_

_I roll my eyes at her. "As if you'd even get scolded for it. Today is such a big deal for them that they probably couldn't be mad if you showed up wearing a garbage bag!"_

_Vanessa bobbed her head in agreement. "True, but I don't wanna have to deal with them being angry later. Don't want anything to spoil today," she said as we began walking in the direction of a bakery. Her arm then wrapped around me tighter in excitement. "They're gonna be so proud of us!"_

_Us. Not proud of just her, but myself as well. It was moments like this where it was obvious why I loved my sister so much._

_We were twins, identical ones, but any random stranger could figure out who was who easily. Sure, my hair was cropped short and Vanessa's flowed down to her waist, but it was just as easy to define us by our hair length as it was by our personalities. Vanessa exuded confidence. She always had, and she always would. I could've sworn on my life that nothing would ever be able to take that confidence away. Her heart was always sure of itself, and her mouth would damn well make sure the whole world knew it._

_She was the special one, and everyone recognized that fact, myself included. I wasn't jealous, quite the opposite actually. Vanessa was older by only a few minutes, but those minutes could have been years for how much I looked up to her. She was aware of this, of course, and made sure to be everything a good role-model should be for my sake. We could always be found with one another, and it was often said we were joined at the hip. The bond between us twins was a thing of legends, as was being twins in itself. Having twins was a rarity in Malvad, and every time twins were born at least one of them always proved to be exceptionally talented. At our birth the Elders were present, and they had immediately declared Vanessa to have great expectations. She would find out what exactly these expectations were today._

_Today was our Turning Day. Today would be the first day my sister and I turned into titans._

_For fifty years this practice had been going on in Malvad, and it was now the basis of our entire culture. Kids everywhere grew up being educated and prepared for their own Turnings, and while not all people could afford the procedure, there wasn't a single person that had not heard of it. It would start at a young age, and as the child grew up their abilities developed. Their earliest injection would be at age six, right on their birthday. These shots would continue at the same time every following year until they reached age nine. Multiple shots over the years adapted the child to their new power, increasing both the power's potential and ease of controlling it. The last shot was given on the ceremony of the child's Turning Day, their tenth birthday. On that day they would do what had been expected of them since birth; they would officially become a titan shifter._

_Titans had always been a focus of Malvad's citizens, ever since their sudden appearance one century ago. The people feared them at first, but that fear developed into wonder and admiration, soon causing the titans to be viewed on the level of gods. And, of course, what person wouldn't want to walk amongst gods as an equal? This brought on an evolutionary change spurred by humanity's thirst for power. Malvad's brightest were put to the test, developing a chemical that when injected into the bloodstream would grant them the Titan's Power. Success was finally achieved by my grandfather, who has since passed, leaving his legend behind for his bloodline to live up to. My father was his heir, and he, too, had come to make a name for himself. He had developed, built, and was currently running what was commonly known as the Dome. The Dome was a colossal structure that served as a place to educate, train, and hone a shifter's skill. Here new shifters were trained by experts that had been shifting for decades, and the Dome was also where the Turning ceremonies would be held. Vanessa and I would be having our ceremonies back to back later this evening._

_Door chimes tinkled merrily when we entered Sweet Angel Bakery. The whole place was deserted; it may have had something to do with the "Closed" sign in the store window. Vanessa beat me to the bar stools and swung around in the chair to ding the bell on the counter._

"_Lillium! Don't try hiding!"_

"_We know you're back there!"_

_We kept ringing the bell for a good minute and then stopped. When everything was quiet there was the soft click of a lighter, and the smell of acrid smoke hit our noses before she walked through the employee's door behind the counter. Lillium took a long drag from her cigarette before sharply looking at us._

"_You girls are insufferable," she grumbled, smoke wafting from her mouth._

_I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "Bleck. The feeling is mutual. Do you have to smoke?"_

_She raised an eyebrow and turned her hawk eyes fully on me. "Do you have to be here?" she snapped mockingly._

"_Aw, don't be that way, Lilli! You know you love us!" Vanessa kicked her feet up on top of a clean glass case that held ornate pastries. Dirt fell from her shoes to create a fine layer of dust._

_Ash dropped along with Lillium's lips. "Again? You've come to dirty up my bakery _again_?"_

"_What? It's not like I'm the thing scaring away customers," Vanessa then smirked. "That would be _you._"_

"_Touché." Lilli grabbed Vanessa at the waist with two lightly tattooed hands and hauled her over the counter. Grabbing a clean rag and stain remover, she started to dab at my sister's ruined dress in an attempt to save it. If anyone could work a miracle with getting stains out of clothing, it would be Lillium. She spent the majority of her time working long hours here at the bakery she had inherited four years ago when she had turned twenty-two, so she had become a master at getting foods and dyes out from anything and everything._

"_So what'd ya get into this time?" she asked, brushing aside light blonde strands of hair so that she could take in the full damage. Vanessa's cuts and bruises had already healed on the walk here, but there was still mud splattered over her front, and an assortment of small twigs and leaves were tangled in her hair._

"_Knocked a kid on his ass. He deserved it."_

"_Good girl," Lilli said absentmindedly and took another drag. The woman then picked up a brush that she ripped ruthlessly through the Vanessa's hair, drawing out a yelp. Vanessa stood stiff and tall despite it, not showing any more weakness._

_Ignoring my sister's pain, I hopped onto the counter and sat there, swinging my legs. "Sooo... Did you make us anything special for today?"_

"_Psh. Why would I make anything special for you brats?"_

"_Because it's a special day. Don't lie, I can see right through you. You know why today's special."_

_Finishing Vanessa's hair, Lilli stooped downward again, rolling her eyes as she did so. "Yeah, I had been hoping today would've been the day you two decided not to come bother me. Guess I'm too optimistic," she drawled as she lifted a destroyed black shoe to the light. It went straight into the trash, followed shortly by its partner. A new pair was brought out of a nearby drawer. Lillium had gone through this enough times to always have a spare pair of everything on hand. "Obviously," she remarked sourly._

"_Oh, _come on_!" I pressed insistently. "It's our Turning Day! You've got to have made _something_!"_

_Hauling Vanessa up, the woman sat her down next to me. Lillium's face pinched up at the mention of our Turning Day. "Ugh. Not that Turning shit again."_

_Vanessa stopped rubbing her sore scalp long enough to shoot a question she had been wondering for years. This wasn't the first time their older friend had shown distaste in Malvad's sacred ceremonies. "Why do you hate them? The Turnings?" Vanessa then pouted. "You aren't gonna hate us afterwards, are you?"_

"_Nah, of course not. Can't hate ya more than I already do. It's just that those rituals creep me the fuck out. What they do to you kids..." Lilli shook her head in revulsion. "It's sick, and you don't even realize it. They do it at an age where you aren't old enough to know any better, and will just do whatever your parents tell you. They promise that you'll become a godly warrior and you'll be doing what's right, but it's _wrong_." Her fists were clenched, and her knuckles were turning white. "What they turn you into isn't a warrior, it's a monster," she spat._

_My sister and I stayed quiet, and when I finally spoke it was in a hushed whisper. "Is that why you never had the procedure?"_

"_Damn straight it was. I may have only been six, but I knew well enough not to let them anywhere near me with that damn needle." Lillium then grabbed a rag and forcefully wiped away the dirt Vanessa had left on the counter. When she tossed it aside and looked at us the worry lines on her forehead disappeared. "You guys know well enough not to become monsters, though. If you did, you'd never get through that door ever again," she said, pointing at the bakery entrance before slipping into the back room._

_She came back moments later with two large frosted cookies in hand. Presenting one to each of us, she then went to lean against the wall and blow smoke patterns in the air. Vanessa's was a brilliant orange and mine was a teal blue, our favorite colors. Each cookie had a delicate design on it that would've taken at least an hour a piece to perfect. Vanessa's cookie was the sun, and mine was her moon._

"_Happy birthday," she said in a bored tone, utterly careless._

"_Awesome! These are amazing!" I exclaimed._

"_So the demon does have a heart!" Vanessa yelled._

_Both of us jumped down from our perch and ran to wrap ourselves around Lilli, careful not to squish our presents. Lillium jumped slightly at the sudden contact._

"_No, don't be hugging me, you little punks! I'm not taking this sentimental shit!"_

"_Oh, shut up and deal with it!" Vanessa snapped and snuggled her face back into Lilli's sweet-smelling apron. We held that position until she conceded defeat, resting her hands on our heads and ruffling our hair._

"_Okay, enough of that sappy shit."_

"_Wait! One more thing!" Vanessa said before digging her hand into her pocket. Eventually she fished out a silver chain that had a metal disk hanging off of it. In neat font on either side of the charm was out names._

"_We both have matching ones, too!" I proclaimed before lifting my chain from underneath my shirt to show her. On one side it read "Lillium," and on the other was "Vanessa." All three of us could now wear the other two's names around their necks. Lilli looked at it for one second before shoving it into her pocket._

"_Freakin' wonderful, now get out and don't come back."_

"_Yeah, right," I said as I detached myself from her. Vanessa and I both clamored over the counter and made our way toward the door. "Thanks for the cookies again!"_

"_Yeah, yeah." Her fingers rose to take the cigarette from her lips._

_The chimes rang their goodbye as we opened the door to leave. Both of us turned simultaneously and called out in unison, "Love you!"_

_She was already turned away from us, heading into the back room again, and only her hand holding the cigarette was raised in farewell. When she heard the telling click of the door closing Lillium took a final breath of smoke before snuffing out her cigarette and flicking it into the garbage. Her hand then found its way into her pocket and brushed against the chain necklace. It might have been a trick of the light, but it looked like a smile managed to break her tough exterior for a second._

"_Love you, too."_

_~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~_

_ Our favorite place to go was up a giant tree that had the greatest view of sunsets and sunrises. It was our spot, and nobody could find us here. We could also look down into the titan enclosure where one of many highly regarded titans was being held. Many meters above the creature, we could also make out the jumbled prayers of worshippers beneath us._

_ The cookies were beyond delicious, and every taste was more heavenly than the one preceding it. Crumbs had fallen all over our clothes, and my lips were dyed a vivid blue. Vanessa smacked her orange ones after taking her final bite._

_ "So, what do you think it's gonna be?"_

_ I knew what she was referring to without her having to say anything. Her foretold expectations. Some shifters got talents like immense strength, heightened senses, speed, or intelligence, but nothing compared to the exceptional gifts of a rare few. The most notable one was a twin a few decades back that was able to change her titan's height without leaving its body to create a new one. She could start at three meters and shoot up to fifteen in a second flat. Not exceeding fifteen meters, though, as it was the limit everybody had here. If I was correct, that same shifter would be there tonight to witness Vanessa's Turning._

_ I lay down against the tree's thick trunk so the warmth of the sun shone onto my face. Staring up at the sky, I was caught off guard by the sheer open blue skies and free space._

_ "Would it be too hopeful to say you might grow wings and fly?"_

_ Vanessa snorted and leaned back into the sunlight, too. Staring up at the endless blue stretch of sky, her laughs died out and her brows knitted together. "If only freedom came that easily."_

_ "Yeah," I breathed in response. Our eyes closed at the same time and we took comfort in the silence together._

_ Screaming shot us upright. We scrambled to look down from our high vantage point at the titan enclosure. Several worshippers had been herded inside, and one of them was currently being ripped to a bloody mess by a twelve meter class's teeth. The screaming came to a gurgled end when the man's throat was bitten through along with the majority of his chest. Even more horrific than that was that there were no other screams. All of the other humans closed inside the cage stood quietly in line, content while waiting for their turn to be eaten._

_ Sacrificial offerings such as this one weren't uncommon, but viewing the blind certainty that the sacrifices had as they walked to their deaths was absolutely appalling in itself. We jerked backwards, as if we had been burned at the sight. My breathing consisted of broken gasps until I was able to calm it. I could hear Vanessa struggling to do the same. As I tried to bring myself back together, my eyes fell to my unfinished cookie, and I remembered what Lilli had warned us about. An image of myself being the one to eat humans was what pushed me over the edge._

_ "Nessy, what if we turn out like that?" I sounded on the brink of crying, and that snapped Vanessa back to attention immediately. Her big sister mode activated, she placed her hands on my shoulders and looked me straight in the eye._

_ "It doesn't matter. _We_ decide what we amount to, not _them_. Circumstances are circumstances, and we shouldn't let them decide how we live our lives. If we mess up, we messed up, and we'll go from there. If you want to make a change, then be that change, okay?" I gave a shaky couple of nods, and her bruising grip relaxed. "We'll be fine, promise."_

_ She gave me a gentle smile with the same confidence she always had. Taking my hand, we started our descent down the tree. We didn't release our hands as we walked toward the Dome. We would face our fate the same way we faced everything else in life._

_Together._

_~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~_

_ Vanessa would go first, and I would go after her. We both stood in the same preparation room, each having the ceremonial robes tightly fitted to us. A sash tugging at my waist was tied right before it became impossible to breathe. My stomach gurgled in protest and hunger. Technically we were supposed to fast the entire Turning Day, but a silly rule didn't keep us from making an exception for Lilli's cooking. The cookie was not enough to hold me over, though, and it left my stomach weak with hunger. Fear had also started to gnaw on me from the inside, but somehow Vanessa telepathically sensed it and shot me a comforting smile. I hesitantly smiled back, feeling slightly better._

_ One of the Elders entered with my parents while we were having our hair styled elegantly. Mom and Dad's eyes shone with pride at seeing us, and they placed kisses on both of our foreheads. Dad smiled reassuringly and Mom clasped her hands together in excitement. Wrapping his arms around his wife, Dad held her close and whispered into her ear._

_Their love was something I had always been in wonder of. They accepted each other wholly; flaws and all. My dad had waited far past the normal marriage age, not taking any interest in the many suitable, wealthy women that had come his way. A marriage of that variety could have furthered my dad's business and improved his social status greatly, but he held off. He might have been raised in a time where money was valued above all else, but he had made sure not to undersell his affections. When he had met my mother, he knew he had made the right choice by waiting. The two lovebirds only relinquished each other when the High Elder presented them his hand._

"_Darren, Melissa, it is an honor to be involved with your wonderful children. The gods have looked favorably upon us, and specifically your two girls." He shook both of my parents hands, but when he looked over to us his gaze only lingered on Vanessa. "They will make lovely warriors akin to the actual titans." His voice sounded slightly power hungry toward the end of his speech._

_Apparently my father didn't hear it, only nodding in return. "We look forward to seeing our daughters become the strong fighters we know them to be." Dad smiled and looked meaningfully at my sister and I. "Go get 'em, girls."_

"_You got it, Daddy!" we both echoed each other. Everyone except the two stylists left, and when they, too, had finished Vanessa and I were left entirely alone._

_Vanessa stopped sucking in her stomach, and placed her hands over her tummy that was being strangled by florid wrappings. "Ugh, I blame the cookies for making me fat."_

"_I can hear Lilium calling you an ignorant pig all the way from here," I taunted. We stupidly broke out into a fit of giggles that was mostly just nerves._

_Our laughs died out, and we just stood there watching each other. Neither of us spoke; we didn't feel the need to. Some magic twin connection was able to convey everything we were feeling without words. In an instant, we were hugging, holding one another for comfort._

"_Do your best, okay?" I heard the words that were meant only for me. I burrowed my face into her shoulder._

"_I will. Good luck, Nessy." She hummed in response._

_We broke apart when two women came to bring us into the central portion of the Dome. Walking with composure as we had been instructed to proved difficult when we were able to see the full view of the room used for Turnings. It was huge, at least forty meters tall and fifty meters in diameter. We were looking down into the arena from the viewing section near the top of the building, far out of reach of even the tallest titans. Glass stretched all the way around the circular room at this height, allowing family and guests to have front row seats. A large crowd had gathered here to see this much anticipated Turning, and murmurs traveled from person to person as we passed them. Vanessa and I were led to the lift, a machine that would take shifters down to the ground where they would then transform in front of everyone. I was told to wait my turn on the balcony a ways to the right from the lift, but Vanessa was placed on the industrial machine immediately._

_She started being lowered, and we shared one last look. I saw her hand reach up to her neck where I knew the chain necklace was clasped tightly in her grip. Vanessa had refused to remove it even when asked to do so. Automatically, I felt my hand draw to my neck to touch the cool, soothing metal. Then our gaze broke, and Vanessa was left to her own devices._

_Vanessa walked silently to the center of the arena, followed closely by an assistant. They stopped and faced each other. I watched the assistant's lips move in the customary prayer. The woman then administered the final fifth shot and bowed deeply, presenting Vanessa with a dagger before leaving. It was a thing of beauty. My father had shown me the sacred weapon at home many times before. The blade shone various shades of silver and gold, composed of many precious metals. My favorite feature of it was the beautiful rubies embedded in its handle._

_ Shimmering light played off the dagger as Vanessa gracefully cut the palm of her hand with it. Rich blood seeped out as she held the hand to the light, several drops falling to splatter on the ground. Her eyes followed the deep red liquid before closing in concentration._

_ All eyes closed and prepared for the transformation. The room was void of all sound for a moment before the resounding explosion rang out. Massive amounts of heat swept over me, but a shiver ran up my spine despite it all. When the temperature stabilized, I opened my eyes and began searching through the clouds of steam for Vanessa._

_ My mouth fell open at the same time my eyes fell out of my head._

_ Vanessa hadn't been difficult to spot at all. She was at eye level with me. Her back was turned to me, but I could see her long, dark tresses through the clearing haze. Her broad, muscled shoulders showcased her strong nature, the epitome of what a titan should be. Oh, and she was thirty meters tall, twice the height of any titan we had ever come across before. There's that, too._

_ I stood star-struck for a while before breaking into a ridiculous grin. "YEAH, VANESSA!" I cheered out happily at my sister's success. Fist pumping the air, I started doing a ridiculous little happy dance. Vanessa's titan had heard my outburst and turned to face me._

_ I stopped dancing. My grin faltered and then crumbled completely. Her eyes, the eyes that I had looked to countless times for guidance, were empty. The green orbs were unseeing, and I imagined if I walked up and knocked on her forehead there would be no answer. Nobody was home._

_ The massive titan's arm started drawing back, and a fist balled up. This had to be a joke. Was she trying to freak me out? No, Nessy knew not to freak me out when I was already on edge. There wasn't any hesitation when she targeted me._

_ "...Nessy?"_

_ Her fist came at me with unimaginable force, and I was barely able to throw myself out of the way in time. Diving to the ground, I dodged to the left as she swung right. A chorus of breaking glass sung out as not only the balcony was taken destroyed, but also a good portion of the viewing section. Crushing weight fell on my legs, debris falling over me. Whimpering, I managed to crane my neck so I could see the full damage. Not five feet from where I rested, the ground ended. A ten meter segment of the viewing section had been totalled, ripped out from the impact of Vanessa's swing._

_ That's when the panicking started. One woman screamed, and a domino effect ensued. The crowd that had been pressing against the glass moments before were now pressing to get out the doors at the far northern end of the Dome. Panic cries filled the air, and Vanessa's titan was drawn to it like a shark to blood-filled water._

_ Forgetting me, Vanessa's titan slowly revolved to look at the people trying to escape. The doors were closed and wouldn't open no matter how desperately the people pushed. Bolted locks kept the doors from budging, having been initially intended to keep the enormous amount of people outside from getting in after the Dome had reached its maximum capacity. Those same locks intended to keep people out was now keeping people in, caged like the livestock they were. _

_Screams heightened when Vanessa drew closer. A woman with a child clung tightly in her arms cried out hysterically when the massive shadow fell over her. Her cries were cut short with a swift backhand from Vanessa. As the mother and child's blood splattered the walls, I finally came to my senses._

_My legs screamed out as I fought to drag myself out of the rubble. They were definitely broken, and when they were finally free I could see the gushing blood and bruises. I gritted my teeth and struggled through it, grabbing a bar above me head to bring me to my feet._

"_Vaness—" I couldn't get the rest of her name out because of a choked gasp that forced its way through. I could feel the pain shooting up my legs in spasms. I almost lost my grip and fell to the ground all over again. It felt like my legs were being trampled, but I knew better than that. They were being re-broken so that they could heal properly. My mouth opened in a silent cry of anguish, yet I moved forward. It felt as if I was taking baby steps for how much progress I was making. Snapping my eyes away from the steam that was working all too slowly on my legs, I watched Vanessa continue her rampage._

_She wasn't in control. That much was obvious. Her titan's size and physique were unlike any other, but controlling something that large was not an easy feat, and it most definitely wasn't something to be mastered on the first try. Not having control on the first transformation wasn't uncommon, yet with the height gap between Vanessa's range of destruction and the area that used to be safe completely nonexistent anymore, this loss of control had turned into a massacre. Vanessa's expectations were undeniably great, but it had come at the cost of her ability to immediately manipulate the titan body she created._

"_Vanessa, don't!" I screamed out, but my cry was drowned underneath hundreds of others. I could see the path she was taking went directly toward the only other balcony in the Dome. On this balcony were the royals, Elders, and, most importantly, our parents._

_Bone fragments were reconnecting piece by agonizing piece. I had been able to pick up my pace to a broken run, but it wasn't enough. 'Faster!' I mentally yelled at my legs. 'Heal faster, dammit!' When I looked up again, I realized what I was doing was futile. Vanessa was on a direct path to the balcony, and I was stuck taking running around the circular upper level. She would make it there far before I would._

"_Fuck!" I swore. In the same breath I stopped running entirely. The path I was taking had no chance of being successful... But that didn't mean a different path was the same story. My face lit up, and my head snapped to find the lift. I had passed it not far back, and if I remembered correctly it was still intact and undamaged. Not sparing a moment for doubt, I threw myself back the way I came._

_My legs were still protesting, but they were close enough to fixed that I could run without restraint. Running around the final curve, I jumped the gate to the lift and slammed the lever to start my descent. My eyes darted back to Vanessa who had stopped to pick up a slab of stone, and I watched in horror as she effortlessly threw it at the exit. The heavy projectile landed a good distance from the countless people trying to evacuate, but it crushed fifteen people, nonetheless. _

_I had to rip my eyes away to attempt to push the lift's lever down harder. Slamming random controls, I tried everything to make the contraption move faster to no avail. It continued to slowly lower in a way that was almost painful. _

"_Hurry up!" I screamed out loud. Desperately I leaned over the lift's edge to see how far I was from the ground. There was still seven meters left, but no time to spare. I could only be thankful I wasn't afraid of heights as I swung myself over the side and fell the rest of the way._

_I rolled and hit the ground running, heading straight for my sister. A glint caught my eye as I reached the center of the arena. My speed didn't waver as I scooped up the dagger. I could transform right now if I wanted to; all that was necessary was having one shot sometime in a person's life and an injury for a transformation. All of the other shots weren't required, they just gave the best results._

_I could do it._

_I _should _do it._

_But I didn't._

_No matter how much I wanted to swoop in and save the day, the negative part of my mind told me I wasn't ready. I didn't know how my titan would measure up. Even if I was the strongest fifteen meter class our city had ever seen, there was no chance of me taking down a thirty meter class. I could also end up the same way as Vanessa, destroying instead of helping. I could save so many, but at the risk of possibly contributing to the body count. My brain was at war with itself. It would be so easy to slice open my hand and let fate decide the rest, but I couldn't turn the dagger on myself._

_ Even in a dead sprint, the tears still escaped. I was too afraid of what result my decision would leave me with. I had to chose to rely on myself, or trust that Vanessa would be able to get herself back in control. I had to try to pick the lesser of two evils, and either way I'd have to live with regrets for the rest of my life._

_ So I did what I always did; I put my faith in her._

_ Pumping my limbs to a breakneck pace, I made it to the balcony box right as Vanessa did. Flipping the dagger outward, I sunk it straight into her Achilles tendon. A network of gashes soon littered the titan's foot, but it had no effect. Vanessa's titan felt nothing as she stood in front of the balcony, but the people now facing her were another story._

_ "Non-shifters stay back! Stay put, we'll handle this!" Three of Malvad's best fighters had stepped forward. Combined, they should be enough to bring down this sudden menace._

_ "Permission to kill if necessary, sir?" One of the shifters turned back to look at the High Elder._

_ "No!" the High Elder cried out from the back of the balcony. "Why would we possibly kill such a beauty?!" He gave a deranged grin while he feasted on the sight of the destruction this girl was capable of. The power-hungry look wasn't disguised anymore. "She's magnificent!"_

_ All of the shifters looked like they were about to question the Elder's profound insanity, but words never came. Only the squelch of their three bodies being crushed by a lightning quick hand was heard. Chaos amplified, and any order that had been held by the now squashed warriors evaporated. Like a tidal wave, each person surged for the exit, pushing anybody in their way with them. Two people fought the wave. One was staggering forward, possibly not even realizing she was doing so._

_ "Vanessa... Sweety, please, it's okay. I'm here. Calm down, and we can all go home together," Mom called out in the steadiest voice she could manage. Hand held out, my mother reached for my sister._

"_Melissa, _don't_! RUN!" my father shouted as he pushed against the mass of bodies forcing him farther and farther away. Vanessa's hand met her before Dad could take another step._

_Vanessa picked her up and held her there, grinning eerily like a child playing with its food. At this point I started yelling in a frenzy._

"_NO! PUT HER DOWN!" I didn't realize I was climbing until my arms started burning. The dagger sunk into the flesh of the titan's leg as if it was butter, but it held in place, giving me a handhold to pull myself up with. Continuing to haul my body up this way, I kept trying to catch Vanessa's attention._

_She was in there somewhere. She had to be. I just had to reach her._

"_DON'T DO THIS! THIS ISN'T YOU!" My hand slipped from the blood that had now covered the dagger's handle. Flailing for only a second, I regained my grip and stabbed the blade upward again. Right into the back of her knee._

_A howl of pain and a huge gust of steam bombarded me from the wound I had created. That spot had done the trick. Empty green eyes narrowed to find its new target, unknowingly squeezing our mom into unconsciousness in the process. When those eyes found me, I shouted again._

"_YOU AREN'T A MONSTER! STOP IT!"_

_Her free hand was already half way reaching toward me before it seized up. The titan's body jerked, and I flew backwards from the motion, having lost hold of the dagger. I got to my feet in time to see the struggle._

_She was rejecting it, trying to get out of the titan's body. Giant green eyes started showing confliction, and the hand trying to grab me looked to be in an internal tug-of-war. When her eyes caught sight of the blood covering the back of her outstretched hand it was all over._

_Horror. Pure horror. Vanessa's eyes were consumed in it. She hadn't been able to see or understand what she had been doing up until that point, but she was very aware of what she was seeing now. Trembles traveled up and down her body, and standing straight, her eyes never left her empty, bloodied hand. Her entire focus was on that hand, so she didn't even realize what she did before it was too late._

_It was an accident. Vanessa had been attempting to touch her bloodied hand. She didn't know she had been holding onto Mom. Not until she let her go._

_Her fall was far slower and far more agonizing than the lift ride. Vanessa and I were forced to watch every second for the same reason we had watched the titan sacrifices. We couldn't look away. Started with the slip of a finger, it ended with a sickening crunch of bones, and then all was still. Mom didn't move from where she lay broken. _

_I was paralyzed. The full impact of what had just happened hit home as I stared at Mom's crumpled body. Her death played continuously over before my eyes, and that was all I could see or hear. Something broke inside me, and I couldn't function anymore. I wasn't sure how long I was gone, but I finally came back to see Dad shaking my shoulders and calling out my name. I didn't hear any of it. All I could see was Vanessa, covered head to toe in the blood of her titan. _

_She had been forcefully extracted from the evaporating body, but that was still where her head was at. Vanessa was still shaking, unable to bring herself under control even in her human state. Her eyes remained horrified at seeing the blood coating her even after escaping the titan. Since it was the blood from her titan covering her, it evaporated off as the titan body decomposed, yet how she continued to stare at her hands said otherwise. Blood would always be there, forever engrained in her skin, serving as a reminder of what monstrosities she was capable of._

_Her pain had always been my pain, and this time was no different. Neither of us were able to move, and it fell to our dad to steer us away from the spectators._

"_C-Come on, girls... We're going home now. We'll get through this there." His eyes were lost, and it seemed like he was floundering to get words out. He was utterly petrified. This had all been his doing. Dad had been the one to make the decision for us to become shifters as children because of his line of work. Indirectly, he had been the one to make his child bear the guilt of a murderer and to lead the love of his life to her death. Agonizingly broken didn't even begin to describe what he was feeling, but that didn't stop him from getting his kids to safety._

_We had almost stumbled out of the broken down exit when somebody stopped Dad. It was the High Elder._

"_Darren, I am so sorry for your loss, I truly am, but on every road to success there are sacrifices that must be made." The man's hand then took hold of Vanessa who was too shell-shocked to protest. "But think about what Melissa would've wanted."_

_Rage flared in Dad's eyes. "How _dare_ you disrespect my wife that way," he hissed out venomously, ripping Vanessa from the Elder's grip. "She would've wanted her kids to get past this, not having them forced to revisit this memory over and over again like you would make them! They aren't tools you can use! They're children!" Taken aback, the High Elder opened his mouth in indignation._

"_The only person that's being disrespected here is me! Know your place and hand the girls over!" The minute he threatened to take us Dad was up in his face._

"_I'll tell you where you can shove that damn respect of yours! Right up your ass! You won't lay a hand on my daughters! They want no part of this! Stay away from my family!"_

_With that, my dad picked up Vanessa and I, turned tail, and ran out of the Dome for good._

_~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~_

_ My repetitive sobbing had melted into an action that was as natural as breathing. I hadn't moved from the nest of blankets and pillows I had created for several hours. I wasn't fooling myself, though. This wasn't the warmth of my mother's arms, no matter how much I wanted to believe it was._

_ She was dead. Cold. Unbreathing. Unmoving. Gone._

_ Another fit racked my body, and I let it wash over me. The shock had worn off long ago, and I had been letting myself cry freely in an attempt to drown out what I was feeling. It couldn't make me forget, though. It couldn't soothe the pain. The grief was overpowering and unyielding. I couldn't shake it. Not alone._

_ I got up to go find her. She would know what to do. She always did._

_ Draping one of the oversized blankets around me, I waddled off in my makeshift cocoon to find Vanessa. Our house was large and spread out. Her room was on the third floor, and mine was on the second. I somehow made it up the stairs only tripping twice from not being able to see the steps through my blurry vision. I made it to her room and would've knocked on her door, but it was already open. The bright orange paint on it was out of place in our house, but Vanessa had insisted on herself painting it like that even though she hadn't lifted a paintbrush in her life. She had done a terrible job, but right now, however, the familiarity was comforting._

_ I shuffled into her room to find it empty. Vanessa was nowhere to be found. I could make out the slight wrinkles in her made bed where I imagined her to be sitting not a minute before. She had probably sat there for hours, going through the same process I was, completely alone and in the dark. Yet, she wasn't here anymore, and she hadn't come to find me. Normally we thought on the same wavelength, but this time she had done the exact opposite. She had avoided me._

_ 'It's okay,' I thought to myself before turning out of the room. 'Just think about where you would go if you were her." It wasn't that difficult. If I had wanted to escape, I would've gone up to the rooftop to get some air. I did just that._

_ The rooftop was just after the fifth floor, and even before I opened the door to outside I felt chills. Clutching the blanket tighter, I swung open the door and walked out into the frosty night air._

_ The blanket fell to pool around my feet. I had been right. Vanessa had chosen to come to the roof._

_ She was standing right on the edge of the building, ready to step off and fall the five-story drop to her death._

_ She heard the faint rustle of blanket falling followed by a strangled sound that came from my mouth. Her head snapped toward me, and I could see the sadness and regret flood her face. She hadn't wanted me to see this._

_ I wanted to say something, _anything_, but no words came. Vanessa didn't say anything either. Her eyes spoke for her. She was at the end of her rope. There wasn't any confidence or wise words for her to fall back on now. The only reason she was capable of those everyday heroic acts was because she had the confidence to do so, and that confidence had abandoned her. More accurately, the confidence hadn't abandoned her, she had abandoned herself. All of her courage came from the trust she had in herself, and now there wasn't even that faith remaining. Vanessa had transformed into a monster that killed her mother without batting an eye. How could she trust herself to carry on when that fear of her grotesque identity would always be there to hold her back? She had lost the person that she thought she was, and that dilemma had brought her to take the easiest solution._

_ I was desperately searching for some sort of advice, but anything I would say would be empty and powerless. Vanessa's kind words had moved me to conquer my greatest fears countless times, but I knew that even if I managed to replicate her ability, there would be no moving Vanessa from where she stood._

_ Vanessa gave me an understanding look, and her eyes welled up with tears. Leaving her twin to survive this world alone was one of the cruelest and most selfish things she had ever decided to do. She had no doubt, though, that I would be able to do it. If there was anything she had taught me, it was to move forward and grow, no matter the situation. I just always thought she would be there beside me._

_ Face contorted in anguish, hot tears streamed down Vanessa's face. Escape for her was impossible, but even now she only worried about me._

_ "I'm sorry," she meekly squeaked out in apology._

_ Then she took one step forward and took the plunge._

_ My hands clasped over my mouth open in a silent scream. Backpedaling in alarm, I tripped over the blanket tangled around my ankles and crashed to the floor. I was up again in a heartbeat, stumbling down the hallway toward my parent's room. I supposed it was now only my father's room. That harsh reality made me run faster._

_ "Dad," I tried to croak out, but no words came, my throat too damaged from crying to make the word._

_ I collided with the door to his room and whipped my head around, finding nobody in sight. I started panicking. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. Not again. First Mom and now Vanessa. In a single night, two of the people that had always stood by me were dead. There would be no more soothing embraces, or being able to look to my other half for guidance. They were gone, and all I had left was Dad. He could protect me; he always had before._

_ Faster than I thought possible, I worked my way down every level until I reached the ground floor. Dad hadn't been in any of the rooms; I had checked every one. All that was left was his den in the basement._

_ "Dad." The word finally escaped me, but it was far too quiet. Racing down the last flight of stairs, my breathing was haggard and my face wet from silent tears I hadn't been aware were coursing down my cheeks. By the time I reached the basement I was such an obvious mess that no words would've been needed to tell that something was wrong, but I yelled out anyway._

_ "D-Dad! Vanessa just—" The words died in my throat._

_ He was dangling from the ceiling, neck ensnared in an unforgiving rope. The hurt hadn't left his face even in death. If that wasn't enough, his hands were limply clasping a blade embedded in his chest, held in place by drying blood. The dark liquid didn't hide the gleaming rubies covering the sacred dagger's hilt, however._

_ I couldn't take it anymore. I had reached my emotional limit. All of the day's horrors crashed back over me, and I crouched over and threw up. The only thing that came out was the bright blue remains of the cookie Lillium had given me. Lillium. I could never go back to her. I could never come back here again. Not after today. Not ever again._

_ I didn't grab anything, I just ran like the coward I was. My heart thudded like a trapped animal in my chest, the only reminder I was still alive. I ran through the streets that I knew like the back of my hand. I wasn't alone in this maze, though._

_ He was following me again. Every turn I made, he echoed it. My hectic running was shadowed by agile jumps from roof to roof. This time he did something that he hadn't done all the other times he had tailed me. He spoke._

_ "So you're the only one left, aren't you?"_

_ I tried to block out his question which was more of a statement and kept sprinting. I could see the exit._

_ "Whatcha gonna do then? You gonna follow after them? What's it gonna be? You gonna be just as weak as the rest of them?" He trilled it in a voice that verged on taunting._

_ I didn't answer him. The gate was in sight now, and I yelled my name out to the guard. He started opening it immediately. My pace didn't waver as I bolted out into the titan's land. I heard him stop at the gate, and he didn't go any farther._

_ "Oh, so that's how you're gonna play it, huh? Fine by me. Let the games begin!"_

_ I could hear his haunting laughter ringing in my ears for miles, but I didn't turn back once. It was better this way. I knew if I looked back even a single time, I would end up regretting something._

_Anything._

_Everything._

_~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~_

The prison was dead when Karma opened her eyes after giving a watered down version of the story to the Scouting Legion members. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved.

Levi had dragged a chair right up to the bed Karma was sitting in, his eyes closed as they often were when he was thinking. After a prolonged silence, his brows furrowed when the story didn't start up again.

Karma caught the slight twitch. "I'm done." She spoke like she was having to explain the obvious to a dumb child.

Levi opened his eyes and scowled. "I said I wanted the _full_ story."

"Yeah, so?"

"That wasn't the full story. You only went up to age ten, that's only half of it."

"Ten is half of twenty? _No, duh._ Gee, great math there, Corporal!" He was irked by her condescending tone, but didn't let up.

"What about the other ten years?" Levi asked sharply.

Karma huffed exasperatedly. "Listen, that's as full as my story's gonna get right now, okay?"

"_Talk_," the Corporal commanded. He hadn't sat here this whole time for a half-assed story.

"Traveling," she said dismissively. Levi cocked his head, wordlessly signalling for her to continue. He wasn't going to let her get away with a one word explanation. Grumbling, Karma got up and walked past him, chains clanking loudly all the way. She went straight to the map she had drawn and pointed at the dot labeled "Malvad."

"This used to be part of a place called Maine in the United States." Her finger trailed upward. "I went north into Canada where I stayed for a couple years," she said, her hand then moving off of the blob that was North America. "Then I went to Greenland, Iceland, and the Scandinavian Peninsula." Karma pointed to the respect areas of the map before finally dragging her finger down to rest on the mark labeled "You." Her hand dropped, and she stepped away from the wall. "And then I just went south until I got here. End of story. Whether you chose to believe me or not is up to you."

His face staying neutral, Levi mulled over her entire story. She had left a lot to be filled in, a strategically smart move. Showing only half of her information still left her with bargaining chips if she needed any in the future. Her story had been detailed enough to erase any doubt of her making the story up from thin air. Karma didn't seem like the type to be capable of feigning emotions, and this story, though she had done a good job of not portraying feelings while telling it, was undeniably personal. He was also able to picture it playing out. He could see Karma running through all of those countries, slowly hardening and toughening until becoming the final product that now stood before him.

The story was believable, and he would work out its missing pieces eventually. The only thing he found to be unbelievable was that this girl had somehow managed to retain her humanity through everything she had experienced.

Nodding his acknowledgement to Karma, Levi turned his attention to the wall drawing. The chalk had smudged, causing a light trail to be formed between the places Karma had traveled through. It created a large arc between the two dots, and Levi realized this girl had essentially island-hopped her way here. Getting up himself, he walked over to the map and pointed to the gaps between the landforms, the area that was supposedly the sea.

"You ran the whole way, correct? How'd you get through the water? Are the oceans shallow enough to wade through?" The river cutting through the Walls was the largest amount of water he had ever seen, but it went unsaid that these oceans were much larger. Levi could picture water getting less deep the more it was spread out.

"Correct, and no, they're really deep. I had to swim across them in titan form. It's pretty easy considering how light a titan's body is, so I could just float around if I needed a break. All someone needs is food, water, a compass, and a rowboat, that way when it gets too tired he or she can leave the titan and just rest in the boat while regaining bearings. It's a bitch of a trip, though; it takes a week or two because of all the drifting, not to mention it's exhausting." Karma became tired at the thought and walked over to collapse back onto the bed.

Just the idea of that kind of journey made Levi's head hurt. "Why the hell would you do it then? That just seems counterproductive. Why not stay in one place?"

He said the wrong thing. Scathing eyes burned into him, making it clear he had crossed some sort of boundary.

"Sorry to break it to you, sweetheart, but the world isn't as happy and peaceful as you'd hope it to be. Most other civilizations aren't like yours. If you're wondering why you haven't found other humans out there, it's probably because they don't _want_ to be found," Karma snarled.

Levi felt unsettled, not by being snapped at by Karma, but by something else. Looking over to the map, the hope that had flooded him upon being told other humans existed out there was quickly disappearing. In its place was a sinking feeling, as if poison was now being spread throughout his veins.

"They're probably like my hometown, and trust me, they'd be more than content to watch you get ripped apart one by one at the hands of their precious titans."

Maybe being alone in this world would have left them better off.

This wasn't news to Karma. She had already figured that out the hard way.

**A/N: Man, I asked, and you guys answered like it was your job! Dang! Well, it looks like I'll be doing long chapters, so here is an extra long 10,000+ one just for you guys! Don't expect them all to be this long, though. This chapter is also to hold you guys over until I'm able to write again. Majorly sorry, but I've got a ton of work to do before school starts (I blame AP World History), and I can't write until that's out of the way. This isn't a hiatus, I promise!**

**Okay, bad news out of the way, I'd love to hear what you guys thought of this chapter or the story as a whole so far! This was a big flashback chapter! Geez, it was a lot harder to create the Malvad backstory than I thought it would be, especially since it was in first person. Malvad was a lot more advanced than the Shingeki no Kyojin setting, but civilizations differ. It all kind of depends where humanity was able to create a stronghold, I guess. Writing all of those death scenes was really difficult. I should get bonus points for being able to avoid using Karma's real name at all in the flashback. As most of you probably noticed, it didn't majorly focus on Karma. This was targeted to show who and what impacted her to become the character she is today. There were tons of things in her past that can be linked to how she acts presently. How many connections could you find? (Before anyone asks, the guy who was following Karma is NOT a figment of her imagination. He's real.) Lots of OCs got thrown in there, too, so let me know which one was your favorite! I'd have to pick Lillium. She was really fun to write X) Tell me your thoughts! Criticism accepted, flames rejected.**

**Thanks so much for reading, and have a SUPERMEGAFOXYAWESOMEHOT day!**

**~THC~**


	5. Chapter Five: X Marks the Spot

****READ THE DISCLAIMER! Nothing of Hajime Isayama's is mine. My plot and OCs, however, are mine. Forever. MWAHAHAHA!... I have issues O.o****

**A/N: I've got some super double deluxe cookies made by Lillium for my super double deluxe readers! She thought you brats didn't deserve them, but **_**everyone**_** deserves cookies, so she let me have them! :D Specially decorated cookies go out to Vertan Yamamoto (Is the word you're looking for depressing? I'd say I'm sorry that I made you cry, but that means I did my job right!), Mello Keehl, Kiyomi-Takashima (Thanks so much! I've never done a story this long, so I've never had to try my hand at character development, but if you say it's good then I must be doing something right! XP), zeropbreakthru (Thanks for your support! Hope you like the new chapter :) ), Simple Ril (You cried? Good, that was my goal! XD Glad you liked Vanessa! I loved her, too. She's confident on the outside, but unsure and vulnerable underneath. When it came to her death scene I suddenly didn't want to kill her off D':), tweeveers, Dama Azul, otatataku (Yep, first fic! I've never written any story more than 10,000 words in my life haha. I'm just winging it!), iliketosmile (Yeah, I probably won't be able to top that for many chapters, but this was many chapters in the making, so other plot twists in the future should keep you on your toes! I actually didn't mistakenly use Karma's name even once, but I had to make the flashback in first person POV to make that happen), lunatarimoon, Waltzing Shadow, Kaize, nyancatguru (Yay! More spazziness! Yep, Karma and Vanessa were really cool to write about. They had a huge bond that can't be broken, not even by death. Even now, Karma is still trying to be the best that she can be :') As for Levi and Karma, both of them are easing up the tiniest amount, which I guess is the best anyone can ask of both stubborn kids XD Glad you liked the new OCs!), SilverNeira (No, this story is based off of SnK/AoT, but it's plot is entirely different), ElucidatorHJ (Haha, yeah those long chapters are hard to write! Glad you liked it and almost cried because of it!), hi (Aw! You're gonna make me cry from happiness! You are too nice!), DarkestRevelation (Every day? I have a stalker O.o ... I have a stalker! :D), Maddie ambrose, BlackWolfang, pikachuau (You are an angel for waiting! I promise I will make the wait worth it :D Romance takes time, but the way I have this story in my head, you readers will get to see every emotional development and be there every step of the way!), Muffin'10, technicolor, Blue Fire Lily (Here come more happy tears! I love you! :'D), shboeotenr, AwesomeJellyBean, Rhilliane, Dot (Sorry for the wait! I promise there won't be another super sad chapter for quite some time! Here's a fluffy pick-me-up chapter :D), Cata-nee (Ahaha! I have a feeling there'll only be about five people in my class, too! Gintama is definitely on my to read/watch list, so I'll keep an eye out for Tsukuyo X) ), MikoSasesko, Nack3490, Raggedy Charly, Mystic Vividness, Uruvia, Eliera Calvetti, Mischief and Magic, Aoi The Exorcist, revoid, Hime Nadeshiko, 1194tsuki, kivelasco1, DrummerForTheMasses, Aszula, England101, GothChick88, Raven Angel Storm (But I love mile long reviews! I also love hooks X) They are an addiction of mine!), Guest 1 (I wuv you, too!), legendarybeastt, arseniclemonade, Em Cay Darkwolfdragon16, ChocoBanana182, XxLuckyfourleafCloverxX (Thank you! I'm glad you like Karma!), a guest (HERE YA GO! ;D), guest ze guest (Sorry for taking so long! Turn that frown upside down!), blackrockx, gr8perhaps, Xylenia, applemilkshake, Harry Abbot, SelfDestructButton, Sweet17, Annie-kins, RememberEdge, Katalina Moreau, Whatsername-Sama, chocolatecandy123, Time Materia, koibito10, BlackBXXI, EvilVampireDucky, KinKitsune01 (Thank you! I guess that means I'm gonna have to check out Fatal Frame 2 then!), KT-Desu, Lenchen94, KimKitty, silverhawk88 (Thank you so much for supporting me!), Last Assassin's Shadow, lexzly (Thank you! Here is the next update, sorry it took forever!), Yukihito, Dundunduuuuun (Glad you liked the backstory so much!), KirinHearts, Guest 2 (Thank you!), LotusFlame, Naralya, battybatsy, Wolf's Dark Rose Angel, MrsGooglyBear, animefanxD, Guest 3 (THANK YOU! HERE'S THE NEXT UPDATE! XD), Sarafinja, featherelly, ObsidianHarlequin, ShadowsOverTheCity, Ponpyon, .x, Intrigued Writer, daphii, . , SerketLily, April Marciano, animegirl3774, PhantomhiveKitty, enkasai, Holeintheworld93, kiranaharuka, MaharAsia, TimeAndLife21, Renrinrin, MatsuGlare (Ahaha, I love the stalker, too! Keep an eye out for any hints on him, but he won't come fully into play until much later. Timing is everything!), Guest 4 (Riiiiight now. Sorry for the wait!), soccergirl19, TastyG (Thank you~!), , SuperSegovia123, PhiaRose777, and Perempuan Pemburu Bintang!**

**I'm probably going to start PMing everyone personally since this Thank You section thingy is getting reaaaally long. This chapter is dedicated to unlucky-cards and SecretBond99! Thank you for all of your help!**

* * *

Chapter Five: 'X' Marks the Spot

Mornings had never been Levi's thing, but this particular morning was worse than the others. Maybe it was because he hadn't yet had his coffee, or maybe it was because he had to get up earlier than normal, but it was clear that he was in a grumpier mood than usual. Levi slinked his way down into the dungeon, grumbling all the way. At least the place wasn't dirty anymore; Levi had made sure to fix that the first morning here. The only thing that was still dirty in the underground cell was Karma whose clothes from the night before were still soaked through with dried blood. Thus, the new change of clothes and a wet washcloth in Levi's hands.

Karma was in the exact same sitting position she had been in when the scouts had left her last night, only she was now passed out cold. Levi went straight to the cage and rattled the bars loudly.

"Wake up," he said grouchily. He had gotten notified by Hanji of the situation barely five minutes ago, and if what she said was correct, then they didn't have much time to spare. Karma needed to be up and moving _now_.

She didn't move an inch. The girl had gone without sleep for seventy-two hours because Levi had decided to try to crack her by questioning her without sleep. Neither of them had slept for the past three days, but Levi normally had dark bags under his eyes, so nobody had noticed any differences. Karma hadn't been showing any signs either, and up until now had been alert as ever. But now, however, she looked like she was dead to the world.

"Wake up!" Levi said louder. There still wasn't a response. Her breathing was level and unchanging.

Growling, Levi ripped open the locked door and stormed over to the sleeping girl. Unfortunately for Karma, Levi had an equality policy. If he had to suffer through waking up, then she got to experience the same pain. Skipping straight past any polite shaking of her shoulders, Levi drew his arm back and coiled up a fist.

"WAKE UP!" A vicious punch from the Corporal connected with Karma's head. Her eyes snapped open the instant she sensed the physical threat. The reaction was immediate; her right leg swung up to nail Levi in the stomach.

"What the—" Levi was cut off and hunched over in pain at the blooming bruise now adorning his abdomen. "What the fuck was _that_?!" he let out in a pained hiss at the girl.

Rubbing her bruised but quickly healing cheek, Karma moved all of her tangled, long hair out of her face to look toward the man at her bedside that had taken the full force of her kick. She was still tired beyond belief and disgruntled from being woken in such an unorthodox fashion, but the funny sight had her awake and snickering in an instant. "_That_ would be reason enough to not get near me while I'm sleeping. Habits die hard, and I'm used to sleeping in the proximity of titans and bloodthirsty animals. You've pretty much got the intelligence of some mindless beast if you're gonna wake me up by punching me, so I must have mixed the two things up. Just be happy I didn't do more damage."

Levi gave a pained groan. _This is too early to be dealing with this shit,_ he thought to himself angrily. Maliciously, he whipped the clothing he had brought at Karma's head, but her hand came up to snatch it at the last second. The wet washcloth hit its mark, though, smacking Karma square in the face.

"Ugh, we don't have time to deal with this. Zacklay is coming to check in on your progress, and he'll be here in an hour with Irvin and Pixis."

Karma grumbled and pulled the wet cloth off of her face and started scrubbing at the crusted blood on her neck. "Zacklay as in Dallas Zacklay? The guy who gave you permission to do this?"

The Corporal had been gingerly walking to lean against the bars near the cage's exit, but he stumbled when he heard this. "How did you hear that? You were supposed to be unconscious when we met up with him."

She shrugged and smirked. "Oh, I was then. I heard you and that other guy talking about him when I first came to in that other prison. I decided to 'wake up' after listening to everything."

Running his hand through his hair, Levi suppressed the fury swelling in his bruised stomach. "Fine. Fantastic. Whatever. Just hurry up and get changed, because we need you to be presentable. I tried telling Hanji there was no way we could fix your ugly-ass attitude in time, but she still thinks you were a gift sent from above, so try to live up to her expectations for once, okay? That means watch your mouth, don't sass anyone important, and do anything you are told to do. Got it, brat?"

"Anyone important? Good, that means you aren't included."

"_Got it?_"

"Geez, got it," she said, holding out her cuffed wrists. Levi came over and unlocked them and then returned to his side of the room. Rubbing her sore joints, the girl looked over to the Corporal giving her icy glares before getting up and moving behind the privacy screen. She had already learned that any personal space went out the window in these types of situations. Levi wouldn't be leaving to give her any privacy while she changed.

"Man, you really aren't a morning person, are you?" No answer came, and Karma then thought about Levi's grumpy attitude during the long horse ride here. "Or an afternoon person." Every night that Levi had angrily questioned her surfaced, too. "Not even a night person, now that I think about it." His eye had started to twitch repetitively. Karma emerged from behind the privacy screen, fully dressed in crisp new clothes, to look at him. "You sure you're even a person to begin with?"

"Haha. Very funny. Now shut it and walk," Levi said dryly, completely unamused. He snapped the pair of handcuffs back on Karma before forcefully pushing her out the door and up the stairs. Karma's bark of laughter echoed in the stairway.

"And he can't take a joke either. How am I not surprised?" Levi had to resist the temptation to throw her back down the stairs.

"_Walk._"

The girl rolled her eyes and answered with fake enthusiasm as she gave a mock salute that proved difficult with cuffed hands. "Yessir!"

~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~

Corporal Rivaille was the only person to come out of the castle. As he walked leisurely over to the group of other scouts that were awaiting the arrival of their superiors, Hanji's head darted around him looking for her beloved titan shifter friend.

"Oi, where's Karma?"

"Where I left her. She'll stay there until Zacklay, Irvin, and Pixis get here," Levi answered in a monotone, his eyes not straying from the skyline where a cloud of dust could be seen rising. A cup of steaming coffee was held in one hand and with the other hand he mixed in a shot of liquor. He raised the mug to his lips and gave no further explanation to Karma's whereabouts. Hanji allowed one more reluctant glance back at the castle before turning to watch several horses thunder towards them.

Irvin's horse was the first to arrive, shortly followed by the horses carrying Pixis and Zacklay. The group stopped in front of the welcoming party, and their horses gave clipped neighs as they dismounted.

"Good morning, gentlemen!" Hanji said in a forced bubbly voice. She was getting a sinking feeling as she looked over to see that Levi had made no move to go get Karma.

"Ah, and what a good morning it is," Pixis replied merrily and walked up to Eren, putting his hand on his shoulder. The man was completely oblivious of the strained atmosphere as he started making idle chit-chat. "And how are you doing, my boy? Happy you aren't the only shifter now?"

"Um... Yeah, I guess I am," Eren said uncertainly. The focus hadn't been meant to be on him today, but it turned out that way, regardless, as Zacklay walked over to check in on the shifter boy as well. Both high ranking officials started questioning him on his recent progress, Mikasa moving to stand by Eren as they did so, and that left only Commander Irvin to greet his remaining soldiers.

"It's good to see you, sir," Petra said happily.

Irvin gave a hearty but weary grin. Trying to track down the Female Titan's puppeteer these past few days had taken a toll on him. "It's good to see all of you, too." He scanned over the faces of his comrades. Petra, Erd, Auruo, Hanji, Levi... And no titan shifter. Irvin focused back on Levi who was contently sipping his coffee. Irvin's face became momentarily downturned, and the Commander swiftly motioned for Levi to step aside with him.

"Where is she? Where's the girl?" Irvin spoke in a hushed voice so that nobody else could hear.

"Where I left her," Levi provided the same answer he had given to Hanji. He lifted his coffee to take another sip, but Irvin grabbed his arm to stop him. Some of the concoction splashed out of its container, coming dangerously close to staining Levi's pristine shirt.

"Not the answer I'm looking for, Levi, try again," the Commander growled, his eyes growing darker in warning.

"She's in the well."

His superior's mouth froze halfway open. Commander Irvin's hands rose to massage his temples, before exasperatedly whispering at the boy again. "You... You. Threw. The. Girl. Down. A. _Well?!_"

"Not exactly throw, but more or less, yes."

The older man's eyes squeezed shut in a way that looked painful. At last, he gave a small nod and turned around to the other officials and soldiers. Any hint of frustration was erased, replaced by calm reassurance.

"Would you excuse us for a moment, please?"

Irvin was already dragging Levi away before any response came. Hurriedly, both men disappeared, leaving behind a very confused group of colleagues.

"Care to explain _why_ you felt the need to throw one of the biggest breaks we've ever had since the bloody Scouting Legion was formed _down a fucking well?!_" Irvin hissed as he dragged the boy by the arm, leading them both behind the Scouting Legion Headquarters.

"We did the same thing with Eren when he was going through his experiments. It seemed wisest to keep her as confined as possible until you guys said to do otherwise. There'd be no risk of her transforming or doing anything stupid when you guys talk to her if she was stuck down there." Levi gave a nonchalant shrug and then added, "Plus, she was starting to grate on my nerves, so I put her in her place"

_Leave it to Levi to justify throwing a girl down a well_, the Commander thought.

Kneading his forehead as he tried to soothe the oncoming headache, Irvin shook his head as the two of them reached the well. The rope ladder was rolled up neatly at its base, not allowing anyone inside to be able to escape."I seriously question your judgement sometimes, Levi."

"You're not the only one, trust me," a voice from the well echoed upward.

Irvin quickly brushed past Levi to lean over the well's edge. He could just barely make out the muddled figure of someone standing at the bottom of the well. "Oh, god, he really did throw you down a well. I am so sorry about all of this. About him. Are you okay?"

There was a brief pause. "That depends. Levi is there with you, right?"

"Yes, he is," he answered, letting some irritation seep into his voice as he glanced over at the Corporal. When Karma spoke again, though he couldn't see her face, Levi was sure she was smirking. The Corporal immediately frowned.

"And is he gonna get in a lot of trouble for doing this?"

"_Hell yes_, he is."

Laughter bounced against the well's walls. "In that case, I've never been better! Wait, I take that back. I would be a lot better if I could get out of here."

"Right, of course." As he spoke, the Commander exaggeratedly mouthed _"what the fuck were you thinking"_ to Levi. The boy never acted senselessly, but sometimes Irvin just had to wonder what part of that boy's brain rationalized actions like this one. Irvin disgruntledly threw the ladder down, and it was a while before a dark head of hair popped up with a victorious smirk just as the Corporal had predicted. With great difficulty, Karma swung out of the well's cold confines and stretched out both cuffed hands to the Commander, completely ignoring Levi.

"I take it you're Commander Irvin. It's nice to properly meet you." She smiled when the man returned the handshake.

"And you, as well, uh..." Irvin turned to look at Levi. "What's her name?"

"She hasn't given her real name yet, but she goes by Karma." Levi tilted his head in time to catch the look of dissatisfaction cross the girl's face. She erased the emotion as Irvin turned back to her.

"Karma. That name will do for now. It's a pleasure, Karma." Irvin gave her a kind smile before other voices broke the peace.

"There they are! Told you they'd be around here somewhere! Oh, and they've got Karma!" Levi flinched irritatedly at the ear-shattering shriek, and Karma noticeably jolted in surprise, but Irvin had been expectant of something along these lines. That woman had never been one to stay away from the action, even when it had been her orders to do so. Her passion was unrestrainable, and Hanji was over in a heartbeat, hanging off of Karma's arm. "How are you feeling? Are you as excited as I am? I really doubt that because I'm almost peeing myself in excit—"

"AHEM." Irvin loudly cleared his throat and jutted his chin out toward the two officials standing behind Hanji. The woman blinked repeatedly and stumbled to attention, remembering she was on a mission.

"Oh, right! Sorry!" Hanji straightened and putting on the most professional face she could manage while resisting the urge to grab back onto Karma squeeze her to death. "This is Dot Pixis and Dallas Zacklay. They, along with Commander Irvin, are here to monitor your progress." Hanji gestured at each man as she said his name. Then her composure slipped, and she started jumbling up her words. "Also, I, er, we, no, _they_ were hoping that you could possibly transform for us, er, _them _today? _Please?!_" What should have been a statement came out as an eager question.

Karma had to back up because Hanji had unconsciously started edging toward her, glasses fogging up in the process. Over the woman's shoulder she could catch Levi's menacing glare and him mouthing words at her. "_Do anything you are told to do._"

She didn't have the time to properly give an answer before a throat deliberately being cleared demanded her attention. Karma's eyes shifted past Levi, coming to rest on Dallas Zacklay. Her heart simultaneously dropped into her feet, practically giving off an audible thud synonymous with a hammer nailing a coffin shut. Dread took over her every fiber, leaving only her face untouched. That, at least, Karma had enough sense to keep composed and respectful of the man before her. From the way he was watching her, Karma had no doubt that he was to be the one to decide her fate.

Zacklay had stood looking on from a distance, scrutinizing Karma's every move. He was looking for any hint of a threat. A twitch of the foot in the direction of freedom. The telling look of a predator sizing up its prey. Any sign that she might side with her internal monster instead of the human.

No such hint came. Zacklay opened his mouth after what felt like an eternity to Karma.

"I take it you understand our predicament?"

"Yes, sir," Karma responded on cue. She was completely serious, not at all speaking mockingly like she previously would.

"Good. Then I needn't explain anything." The judge tilted his head to look down on the girl through his spectacles. "I'll keep this brief. You can either be an asset, or you can be ashes. It's that simple. That depends on two things. Firstly, my impression of you, and secondly your fighting potential which will be determined by my confidant, Dot Pixis." Zacklay took his time approaching Karma, and while him closing in on her heightened her urge to back away, the girl stood firmly in place. He was focused upon staring her down, seeing straight through any false fronts. "Now, I've always believed that there are two sides to every story, so I'll give you your one chance to establish an impression... Do you have anything you want to say for yourself?"

Looking back, Karma thought it pretty pathetic that she automatically looked around at the other people present for guidance, but it was what she did, nonetheless. Her eyes found Eren's. As a fellow shifter, he had undoubtedly faced and survived this ultimatum of Zacklay's when his secret came to light. Eren had faced the same treatment, the same stress, the same consequences, and he had overcome it all somehow. So when Karma saw Eren's encouraging face, it was all that she'd needed to bring herself to answer.

"I only did what I thought was right, and I had no intention of ever coming inside of these Walls," Karma said levelly, not breaking eye contact with Zacklay. "But while I'm here, I do intend to aid your cause in any way that I can be of use."

She had chosen her words carefully, not at all giving any solid promise for how long she intended to obediently stay here and take orders. Staying in one place for a long period of time was risky business for Karma, but this place and its cause was almost worth the risk. Their ideals and goals were so close to her own that it made sense for her to assist them. Actually, Karma hadn't yet bothered thinking about staying with these people—she had assumed she would take her leave when the moment presented itself—but now that she was offering her help, she found herself believing in her own words.

What was a month or two anyway if it was spent protecting one of humanity's last strongholds? These were good people who had a right to be cautious and worried. Karma could understand better than anyone how hopeless it felt to be fighting a losing battle, back pressed against a wall, with nowhere to run or hide. She wouldn't wish that upon anyone, and if it meant staying here to see that wish through, she would do just that.

Zacklay must have seen the determination blooming in her eyes, for after watching her a good minute or two, he nodded and stepped back. "I leave her in your very capable hands, Pixis." Adjusting his spectacles and rearranging his coat, Dallas Zacklay turned to leave.

"Wait! That's it? That's all you're going to ask her?" Hanji asked, astonished.

"That's all I _need_ to ask her," he shot over his shoulder, continuing in the direction of the horses. He paused when he passed Levi.

"She doesn't leave your sight under any circumstances." Voice low, only the Corporal was able to hear the order.

"Understood," Levi said resolutely. It was a vow between men, and Levi understood that when he agreed. He would be accountable for all of Karma's actions. The moment he let such a hazard out from under his control would be the same moment he would place his head in a noose.

Levi swore to himself no such time would come.

It baffled him just as much as the next guy how Zacklay was so easily able to reach a decision about a person's character from something as small as a single remark, but it wasn't Levi's place to judge. All he could do was carry out this mission and, in doing so, utilize Karma's abilities as much as possible. Levi looked away from Zacklay's retreating figure to find the girl that would remain under his supervision. No longer under the critical eye of Dallas Zacklay, she took a shaky breath of relief, causing Levi's brows to knit together.

_So now she shows fear? To him? I would be the one to actually put an end to her, but she doesn't fear me. Why?_

Levi shook his head and brushed away the confusing thought. Pointless thoughts like that were a waste of his time; a distraction that came between him and his work. Focus was a necessity now more than ever. Pixis would need to be blown out of the water by Karma, and anything short of that might not be enough to get him to stand behind them.

As usual, Levi had his work cut out for him.

~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~

"Thank you."

The convoy of Scouting Legion members, save for Auruo and Erd who were left back at HQ because of their injuries, were outside of Wall Rose, looking for a safe transformation site. They had traveled entirely in silence, so Eren's voice breaking the quiet startled Karma, causing her to jerk to the side so she could see his horse pulling up next to her.

"Shouldn't that be my line? Your previous success is the only reason I'm even being given a chance." Karma was shocked when Eren shook his head.

"I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you—"

Karma scoffed, effectively cutting Eren off. "I thought we already established that what happened in the forest wasn't anything to get worked up over."

"No, I don't mean you saving us. Well, that's part of it, but that's not what I meant." Turning toward him curiously, Karma watched as Eren bow his head solemnly. "They were going to decide my fate based on the outcome of that mission. If it was successful, I'd be able to continue helping humanity as a part of the Scouting Legion. If it wasn't..." He trailed off at the notion of what his future might have been. Imprisonment. Dissection. Death. An involuntary shudder passed down his spine as he pictured himself being carted into Wall Shina to most likely face his end. "Anyway, we failed to capture the Female Titan, and there would have been nothing to show for the mission if—"

"If you didn't capture me instead. I see," Karma finished for him. Eren's mouth opened but found no words. He eventually settled for nodding silently.

He still felt guilty. How could he not when every day Karma sat behind bars while he stood in front of them? Every day she spent chained up in solitude was a day that Eren could walk freely with his friends. Every burden he had been freed of was given to her to carry. And because of his dumb decisions, every day she spent inside these prison-like Walls was another that he had condemned her to. He wouldn't have been here if not for her, and she wouldn't have been here if not for him.

Unable to stand seeing the kid so guilt-ridden, Karma shifted uncomfortably in her saddle. Eren's feeling of indebtedness needed to stop now, or it would only get worse. "Do you know Pixis well?"

"Eh?" The question was not at all related to what they had been talking about, and Eren suddenly felt the urge to bang his head against a wall. _Good going, Jaeger. Now you made it so awkward she went and changed the subject. Being a Hanji-level creeper doesn't make you any friends! "_I only worked with him once, but I think he trusts me. Why?"

"Put in a good word for me and we'll call it even."

Speechless, Eren looked over at her in wonder. Karma's eyes were set back on the trail, no longer acknowledging Eren's dilemma. Instead, she was choosing to start a blank slate. Almost instantaneously, Eren felt some sort of weight lifted from his conscious. Smiling faintly, Eren turned to look forward, too.

"Consider it done."

"Speaking of done, can your shitty conversation be? It's making me sick."

She had almost forgotten about him being there. Almost. And she had been very content in lying to herself that he wasn't there. But he was.

"Well, your voice makes me sick, so I guess we'll both have to suffer. On a day that I was relatively well-behaved, might I point out," Karma spat the comeback in agitation, speaking to Levi who, to her greatest distaste, was sitting not even a breath away from her. She had been forced onto the same horse as the Corporal, and was currently seated directly behind him. Levi had ordered that she was not allowed to ride her own horse. The only exception to this rule, in his exact words, was if Karma suddenly became a blind, deaf, quadriplegic that was directionally challenged. Until such a time, the Corporal had stated he would not provide the shifter such easy means for escape.

_"Really?_ My bruised stomach remembers that differently," Levi snapped over his shoulder.

"Correction. Bruised _ego_."

Levi's fingers tightened around the reigns, imagining them to be Karma's neck. "What did you just say, you shitty brat?"

Twisting as far away as possible from the seething man, Karma waved off Levi's accusation. "Nothing, nothing," she said dismissively, all the while joining Eren in a silent fit of laughter. Levi hunched forward, muttering darkly. A sharp crack of the whips sounded out, forcing Eren to push his own horse faster to remain at the fierce pace of the Levi's stallion. When he caught back up, he drew parallel to Karma once again in time to hear one of Levi's dark grumbles.

"Consider me first in line to laugh at you when you fail and end up dig your own shitty grave!"

Laughter that had been ghosting Eren's face died out in an instant. Swallowing hard, he snuck a peek at Karma. For someone whose life depended on a single performance of skill, she sure seemed to be taking it well. A little too well. Eren thought back to when he had first tried to transform for experimental purposes. Tried being the key word. He had been unable to do it, regardless of however many times he sunk his teeth into his bloodied hand. Did Karma not understand the weight of what was being asked of her? _No, of course she does,_ Eren thought stupidly, shaking his head. _She's been doing this for half of her life, she'd definitely know what she's doing. But still..._

"You'll be able to control it, right? The transformation?" Eren asked in a low voice that held all the uncertainty he was filled with every time he transformed.

The thunder of hooves was not too overpowering that Karma could get away with faking not hearing the question. Her back suddenly became unnaturally straight as she turned to Eren, stiffly smiling.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be perfectly fine!"

Maybe Eren would have been able to believe her if she hadn't been facing him. That way, he wouldn't have been able to see the off look in her eyes. She was lying. Now, an entire book could be made about every rhyme or reason Karma had to lie to Eren. But Eren knew that look better than to think it meant she was lying to him.

No. She was lying to herself.

~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~

"I feel stupid," Karma complained from where she crouched on the ground. It was utterly tempting for Levi to make a belittling remark when she had set herself up so nicely, but he kept his mouth closed. He would not sink to the level of a five-year-old. Especially not during something this important.

"Quit complaining and just do what you're told!" Levi had to shout to make his voice cover the distance separating them.

The Corporal was standing at the peak of a crumbling tower of what had been a fortress. All that remained of its once great walls was a pile of rubble, titans most likely having destroyed them to reach any morsels that were hiding inside. Where Levi was perched was the only partially stable turret left, and at this height he would still be above Karma in titan form. Karma had already made a comment under her breath about Levi needing a twenty meter stepping stool to be able to surpass her. Levi had pushed her out of the saddle in retaliation.

Karma was directly in front of the tower, facing away from it. She was turned toward everyone else who had formed a semicircle around her, giving a generous space of fifteen meters. Everybody except Hanji and Pixis were wearing Maneuvering Gear; Pixis had insisted on just standing and observing, and Hanji was armed with only a notebook she had dedicated to research on Karma.

Levi wasn't worried, though. Irvin had come up with the plan, and he had complete faith him. The Commander in question stepped forward to explain to Karma the procedure one last time.

"Okay, this is how it's going to work. When everybody is ready, I'll give you the signal to transform. You'll do this by biting your hand just like how Eren does—" All the time he was speaking, Karma had been nodding, but at the mention of transforming she stopped. Irvin paused when he saw the kneeling girl reach up to touch her neck.

The necklace. It wasn't there. Her fingers searched for the cool comfort of smooth metal but found none.

"My necklace. Was it confiscated?" Karma looked up at Irvin, almost expecting him to pull the chain necklace from his pocket. He didn't.

"Yes, but don't worry, it wasn't thrown out. We are still holding onto it, we just couldn't risk you having it on you." Karma's hand fell from where her neck, and Irvin caught sight of the tan line where the necklace had been before. The skin was ghostly white, having gone years without being touched by the sun. The girl had never taken the necklace off. Not once.

Karma swallowed a lump in her throat that had suddenly appeared. "I used it to transform. The pendant's edges were sharpened so I could cut my palm with it. I never transform without it."

The Commander remembered that necklace, having been the one to take it off himself the first day Karma had been imprisoned. On one side had been engraved "Lillium" and on the other "Vanessa." He probably would have let her keep the necklace if it had not been for the fact it could be seen as a weapon. The curved, razor-sharp edge of the disk was capable of cutting flesh if somebody ran their hand over it too carelessly. It had been modified that way, Irvin could tell from the metal's markings. At one point, it had been a normal pendant, but somewhere down the line its edges had been refined to mimic the cutting edge of a high quality blade.

Obviously, the necklace had meant more than just a means for transformation to this girl, but that didn't change anything. He couldn't give her back the necklace. He didn't even possess it anymore. Levi did, and it was now the Corporal's call whether or not Karma would get her necklace back.

"I'm truly sorry about that, but you're going to have to transform this one time without it."

Karma nodded slowly, returning to stare at the ground in her crouched position. "I understand. Continue," she said calmly like nothing had even happened.

Irvin complied without question to the abrupt change. "Right. So, you transform crouched down, facing us, back to Levi. We will see if you are in control and aware if you stick to instructions and don't lunge for us. In the worst case scenario, you lunge for us and Levi will attack you from behind and..." Commander Irvin drifted off.

"And kill me?" Karma concluded for him.

"Most likely, yes. That, or you lose all of your limbs in the process of him cutting you out of the titan body."

"Oh, that sounds just peachy. No pressure or anything," Karma mumbled to herself.

"Hopefully, that won't be of concern," he proceeded, not hearing her. "The next thing for you to do is turn around toward Levi without standing up. Then get up slowly when you are facing him. Stand there for a while and don't do anything until Levi signals that you can move. When he does, raise one hand and just wave." The man demonstrated by waving casually himself. "That way we'll know you're in control of your actions, and then you can go ahead and show us any skills you think would prove your worth. Just make sure not to do anything that would give us reason to suspect you intend harm, or else Levi will take action. Got all that?"

She hummed in assent, and Irvin crouched down to her level and unlocked her handcuffs with a soft click. After he took them off, he presented her with his hand. "You've got a lot of guts, kid, to go through with all of this. Many people would have turned tail and ran by now. You've got my respect."

Karma gripped his hand firmly and gave him a thankful look. "The feeling is mutual, sir." Irvin gave her hand a hard squeeze, got up, and returned to his position in the semicircle.

"Everyone set?" All of the scouts answered in unison, and Commander Irvin caught the answering flash of light reflecting off of Levi's blades from the top of the tower. The last person he looked to was Pixis.

"Let's get this thing started," Pixis said, smiling, not taking his eyes off of Karma. With the go-ahead from Pixis, Irvin ordered for everybody to draw their blades.

"Whenever you're ready, Karma," Irvin shouted out to the girl's hunched over figure.

Karma heard him loud and clear, but didn't react immediately. She was too distracted at trying to steady her breathing and pulse rate. Both had started skyrocketing the minute she realized she would have to be transforming without her necklace. Without Lillium and Vanessa. Taking some slow breaths, Karma calmed herself down to a stable state. Only then did she raise her hand toward her lips. Her fingers momentarily strayed over where her necklace normally rested, but continued upward until stopping right in front of her mouth.

_Don't worry about it, you'll be fine,_ Karma chanted to herself, pushing aside the fears she had to overcome every time she willingly let the monster part of her come to the surface. _Just think of Vanessa and Lillium. Only them. _A shadowed face accompanied with a sadistic smile broke through Karma's fragile defences. She outwardly flinched, an automatic reaction to anything associated with him. _Not him. Vanessa and Lillium. No one else._ Thinking of their faces and encouraging words, Karma was able to momentarily drive out the fear. When she was focused, Karma bit down on her hand without hesitation. The taste of bitter copper flooded her mouth, and that was the only thing she was able to register before blistering heat struck her like a bolt of lightening.

A sweltering explosion of steam blinded all of the soldiers, effectively putting everyone more on edge by not being able to see their target. The only reason they didn't lose it on the spot was that they knew Levi was able to clearly see everything from his bird's eye point of view. Finally, a large gust of wind blew the steam past them, and after a minute of hurried blinking Karma was visible again.

Even crouching, her titan was still intimidating. It made several people uncomfortable to be in such close proximity and not lift a finger to do anything. Mikasa was itching to spring into action, but Eren stopped her with a shake of his head. She didn't relax one bit until Eren pointed back to the Long-Haired Titan. Mikasa looked back to Karma, knowing that it was easy to tell if Eren was in control of his titan, so this girl should be no different. It was a strain for Mikasa to hold off her instincts, but she had to give this girl the benefit of the doubt. She had just as much a right to live as Eren did.

Everyone watched Karma's still form. Then, with painfully slow movements, Karma's head looked up from the ground to look at the semicircle of spectators. Forest green eyes scanned down the line, and stopped when they reached Pixis. Both of his eyebrows arched when she locked onto him, but he didn't show any sign of fear.

Karma must have taken that as a good sign, because she started to move. Not attempting to stand, she gradually turned herself around to face the crumbling tower. Her head tilted upward, searching for the outline of a certain short Corporal. Finding him, their eyes connected. Levi's were dark and cold, searching Karma's for an inkling of normality. The clear hunger to hold onto her humanity that Levi had seen before wasn't as clear as before. A completely different hunger was causing her to second guess herself, muddling any clarity she previously had.

The Corporal's hands choked up on his blade handles tighter as Karma slowly began to stand. It felt like everyone, himself included, was holding their breath, waiting for that one out of place movement to surface. But everything was going according to plan, and Karma stood still and straight, not making any movements, just as was instructed.

That wasn't helping Petra whose knees were wobbling, her blades just as unsteady. The constant reminder that she should be able to trust Karma, and by extension the Long-Haired Titan, was doing little to curb her shaking. She had a feeling this anxiety wouldn't diminish until after everything was said and done.

Levi wasn't allowing himself to become unsettled under Karma's stare. He knew the reason she was watching him was because she was waiting for the signal to move, but that didn't change the fact that she was staring him down. Her gaze was intentionally intimidating, trying to rattle him. And while he would forever deny it, Levi was starting to question his judgement.

_Is this Karma trying to mess with my head, or is this something else? Something not human?_

Having had enough of the head games, Levi was just about to wield his swords to signal Karma to wave when Karma started moving. Without being told to.

Both of her hands left their place at her sides, stretching up toward the Corporal. Not one arm like had been planned, but both arms reached at him, easily capable of crushing him to a bloody pulp.

In a heartbeat, Levi's fingers were hovering over the triggers for his grappling hooks. _That settles it. Karma isn't in control; she isn't there, period. Mission failed— _Levi had taken two steps in preparation to launch himself into a tight spiral to slice down the out of control transformation. Then he fumbled, almost tripped off the tower, and started cursing profusely at the sight below him.

"Are you _fucking_ kidding me?!" Levi roared at the Long-Haired Titan. He turned away and ran all of his fingers through his hair, borderline ripping it out, and settled for taking out his frustration by hurling both of his blades at the cement. The Corporal had to circle back to the edge of the tower to make sure he hadn't imagined it.

Nope, he hadn't. The Long-Haired Titan was still standing there, both hands held high, flipping him off. On top of everything, the titan was _smirking_ at Levi.

_That's Karma, alright. Same shitty attitude, different body._ "Oh, fuck you, too!" Flipping her off back, Levi gruffly tried rubbing away a twitch that had started up by his eye. Try as he might, though, he couldn't get rid of the sight of that damn _smirk_ that he could practically hear mockingly saying, _"Had you there for a second, didn't I?" _Keeping his eyes clenched tightly closed, Levi didn't give any clear sign to his comrades to signal the all clear. Not that Hanji needed any.

"OOOOOHHHH! 'ATTA GIRL, KARMA! LOOK AT THAT CONTROL, PIXIS! BEAUTIFUL!" Hanji had been holding back, but the minute Karma's true nature came through Hanji was resorted to a heaving, sniveling mess. Unabashedly salivating, Hanji rushed forward, wanting to touch the titan's skin. "KARMA! HOLD STILL! I'M GONNA GRAB A SAMPLE REAL QUICK!"

"Well, would you look at that," Pixis exclaimed, shaking his head in amazement. "The first beautiful titan I come across, and she doesn't even want to eat me! Oh, the irony!... Oi, Hanji! Drop the scalpel! We aren't gonna go pushing our luck!"

Whirling around, Hanji bit out, "Oh, can it, baldy! You're just envious she has so much hair when you have none! And to think I was going to offer making you a wig from the hair samples I was gonna take! _Not anymore,_ I can tell you that!"

Petra melted into nervous laughter that quickly spread, thawing out everyone that had tensed up. Irvin tried to pass off his chuckles as coughs when Pixis looked his way, but Pixis, too, was laughing humorously. Eren smiled and Mikasa lowered her blades, the stressfulness of the moment having drained away. A broken rumbling sound signified even Karma joining in on the laughter, leaving only Levi to grumble.

"Just shut up already!" he spat out at Karma who, along with everyone else, gladly ignored him.

"Okay, Miss Karma!" Dot Pixis yelled to gain Karma's attention, "We all can see you are fully in control, so you can go ahead and start showin—"

Karma's head snapped up, and she held up a finger to silence Pixis. She went dead still, not moving a muscle. All she did was slowly bring her finger to point in the direction of a wooded area in the distance. The action was so out of line that the man actually closed his mouth and followed the path of Karma's eyes. His mouth fell back open, and his blood ran cold.

There was only one downside to taking Karma outside of Wall Rose to transform, and he was staring it in the face right now.

"Titans," he breathed out, the word alone promising death.

Suddenly, everyone standing below the tower became aware of what had tipped Karma off. The ground was trembling, as if it, too, quaked in fear. On the brink of the horizon were the outlines of three fast approaching titans, heading straight for them.

Irvin sprung into action first, hollering out commands. "Retreat to the Wall! Get on the horses and go straight back! Levi! Make sure Karma gets out! If she can't do it herself, cut her out!" Before the orders had even left his mouth, everybody was already in motion, making a beeline for where their steads had been tied up. The Commander had started in the same direction, but took a last look over his shoulder.

_Did those things sense her transformation and come running at the smell of food? Fucking hell... It might've been smart for us to pick the area with this tower, but the rest of the land is flat. This is no place to take on three large titans, and if we all were defending Karma somebody would undoubtedly die. Retreat is the only smart option, even if it meant we did this all for nothing... We'll just have to do it again. _He grinded his teeth together in frustration. This irked him to no end, but he couldn't change anything.

Turning forward again to sprint to his horse, Irvin realized that Karma hadn't made any move to leave. Had she not heard him? "Levi! Tell Karma to get out of the titan! We need to _move!"_

"I'm working on it!" Levi barked back, and then kept trying to talk Karma out of the titan body. "Karma, this is not the time to ignore me! Get out now, or I get to slice you up head to toe!" She had been entirely unresponsive, but sensing that Levi had reached his breaking point, she gave a gruff shake of her head.

"No?" Levi exclaimed, "Do you _want_ me to cut you open, then?!"

Karma shook her head again and this time turned toward Levi, letting her eyes momentarily break away from the approaching titans. Locking eyes with him, she pointed to herself, then the ground she was standing on, and then gestured to the three titans that were becoming easier to see by the second. Levi's brows scrunched. Karma repeated the gestures again slowly.

Herself.

The ground.

The titans.

_Is she saying she wants to stay put? _Levi was abruptly reminded of the Female Titan and how she had decided to take the chances of possibly being devoured by other titans to make her escape. But that didn't add up. Karma could have made an escape attempt at any moment since they left Wall Rose. An attempt now would barely have any better chances of success, and Karma didn't strike Levi as the type to roll the dice on her well-being. _So she's not trying to escape. But she should realize just like Irvin that retreating is what's best. If she's not going to run, then what could she—_

Everything clicked. It was the simplest rule to survival. Fight or flight. His eyebrows shot up, and Levi immediately cupped his hands to his mouth to yell toward the other scouts.

"She wants to stay and fight them! She wants us to judge her based on this!" Levi shouted, causing several heads to turn. Karma gave a series of nods, affirming that Levi had guessed correctly.

"NO! We can't say for sure if she'd be able to do it, and we would be sitting ducks if we waited and she fails! We aren't taking that chance! She can prove her skill some other way!" Irvin shouted back as he was mounting his horse. Shaking her head at his words, Karma made sure Levi was paying attention when she pointed at the scouts on the ground and then shifted to finish pointing at Levi where he stood on top of the tower. He understood this one better.

"She wants you guys to move up here and she'll defend the tower!" Levi shouted gruffly, quickly getting sick and tired of being a titan interpreter. By the looks of it, though, neither were going to cave. Karma was showing no intention of moving, instead rocking back and forth on her feet to prepare for the oncoming threat. Irvin looked about ready to tell Levi to just cut Karma out of the Long-Haired Titan's neck and be done with it, and he would have if it weren't for Pixis leaving the horse beside him in favor of jogging back toward the tower.

"What the hell are you doing, Pixis?!" Irvin yelled from atop his horse, ready to lead the rest of his soldiers back inside the Wall.

The man didn't pause as he continued toward the tower. Without hesitation, he shouted over his shoulder, "I'm taking a chance! We won't win this war if we run and hide every time something unexpected happens! We need to be able to stand and fight even if we might lose our lives in the process... _Especially_ if we might lose our lives in the process! So, in short, I'm doing MY JOB!" Pixis hollered back as if it were the simplest answer in the world. "Have a little faith, why don't you?!"

The Commander looked like the words had slapped him across the face. Irvin was without an elaborate plan and had no clue what the outcome of his decision would be, and yet he knew there was no other option to take. Not if he wanted progress. He wasn't sure if Pixis meant have faith in him, Karma, or both, but it had the desired effect. Dismounting quickly, he waved the other scouts to do the same.

"Get to the tower! We're seeing this through to the end, good or bad!" Irvin ordered and watched as all of the others ran to follow behind Pixis. He brought up the rear with Hanji at his side.

"It's all you, Karma! Show us all you've got!" Hanji shouted the go-ahead in Irvin's place. The Long-Haired Titan turned briefly to give a thumbs up in their direction before refocusing.

"If you get us killed over something as stupid as proving a point, I will track you down and haunt you in the afterlife," Levi threatened as he retrieved his blades and took a front seat for the bloodbath. Karma made a mental note to repay him for the comment later.

Everybody had started maneuvering their way up the rubble to reach the tower which left Karma all to herself. It was only her and her conscience. Looking for a fight was something she rarely did, and it never proved to get any easier. This was too close to crossing the line that separated what was humane from what wasn't. But this was one of those times she was forced to smear that line if she even wanted to be alive long enough to understand which side of it she stood on.

One of the titans had pulled ahead of the other two. It was smaller, twelve meters to their fifteen, and had more speed as a result. _I'll take on that one first and try to finish in quickly enough so I won't have to fight all three at once,_ Karma strategized as she started looking for key pressure points to hit. _I only need to target the arms, jaw, and legs. If it can't move or bite someone can approach it and deal with it afterwards. Just wait for the right amount of distance…_ Karma balanced on the balls of her feet, calculating that perfect moment to strike. And then, in the blink of an eye, she was sprinting for her target.

Karma was running full-throttle, and the twelve meter class saw her coming. The grotesque titan extended an impish arm, longing for the chance to tear into flesh. Mimicking the gesture, the Long-Haired Titan stretched out an arm almost as if she were offering a hand to a friend. Then at the last second, just as they came within arm's length of each other, Karma's seemingly friendly hand whipped out like a viper to deliver a heavy blow to her opponents shoulder. Instantly, the entire arm that had been about to rip out her throat went limp, but Karma wasn't done yet. Yanking the twelve meter class toward her, the Long-Haired Titan forced it to turn so that its vulnerable back faced her. A quick volley of lightning jabs were unleashed against the back of the titan's neck and nearby the jaw, causing its mouth to fall open, completely slack. Pain had finally started to register, and the titan began letting out howls of pain and tried to pull away, but Karma had already hooked onto its last good arm. Looping her arm through and giving a sharp tug, there was a distinct pop as the appendage was swiftly dislocated. All that was left was for Karma to kick in the backside of both knees, and the impish titan collapsed to the ground. The whole ordeal had gone far quicker than it had taken her to finish the Female Titan, but it was by no means over.

Karma had thought she had timed it well enough to have time to take a breath before taking on another of the titans, but she hadn't accounted for the sudden burst of speed that the thin, boney titan pulled out of nowhere. She had no time to spare before the gangly titan was bearing down on her, and Karma made the split second decision to sidestep out of its way and make her move when it would loop back to get her. Big mistake.

The second she darted out of its path, the titan didn't break step and continued on its course, completely ignoring Karma altogether. Without a second glance, it passed her by and headed for its true target: the tower and all the humans on top of it.

_An Abnormal! No, no, no, no, no!_ Karma panicked at letting a threat right past her and surged forward to run down the rogue titan. Behind her, Karma could hear the other fifteen meter class hot on their heels. Now not one but two bloodthirsty titans were closing in on the scouts. The closer they got to the tower, the more worried Karma got, so much so that when she got in range she made a desperate swipe for the nape of the gangly titan's neck and failed to make a lethal wound. It did cause the titan to stagger and topple to the ground, though. Karma was only able to pin the titan down with a foot on its chest before turning around to handle the other fifteen meter class.

Luckily enough, this one wasn't an Abnormal and didn't try to barrel straight through her, but Karma still had to throw all of her strength into keeping the monster at bay. Far outweighing her, the chunky titan was pushing forward for all his worth, hungry fingers searching for purchase. Fear and adrenaline pumped through Karma's veins unforgivingly, and she was barely quick enough to fend off both arms and keep gnashing teeth at bay. To make things worse, the gangly titan pinned under her foot had started trashing and clawing at her leg, coaxing out a stream of blood.

Karma was struggling. She was being beaten down from both sides, and there was nothing she could do about it. The situation was no longer under control. If it continued like this… When Eren connected the dots, he rushed to the tower's edge only to be stopped by Levi taking hold of him.

"What do you think you're doing, brat?" Levi spat at him but didn't look away from the battle happening right below the tower.

Eren was so disgusted by the question that he almost shoved straight past Levi. "I'm going to help her, of course! She's going to die if she keeps this up! How the hell are you okay to just stand by like this?!"

"I never said I was okay with standing here," Levi declared as he emotionlessly watched Karma's calf got torn off and the girl wailed painfully. "But before you go swooping in to help, you've got to ask yourself if you'd be okay with knowing that you'd only be hurting her." The Corporal looked Eren dead in the eye. All Eren could see was cold darkness. "Because I guarantee you right now that you saving her would only make her look incapable. Pixis is here to judge _her_ actions, not yours." He returned to watching Karma's fruitless struggles. "If anything is going to be done, it will have to be her doing and nothing else."

With a foul taste in his mouth, Eren had to stand down. Levi was right. If it wasn't Karma calling the shots, she wouldn't be credited for shit. Swallowing the bitter realization, Eren did one of the hardest things he had ever done.

He just stood there and watched.

Karma was trying with all of her might to try to lock up the chunky titan's arms, but was having no luck. Every time she tried to get a good jab in, those teeth would get just a little too close and she'd be forced to go back to pushing the titan away. The foot she had pinned the gangly titan down with was starting to slip from being coated in blood, too. It wasn't looking good, but losing was the farthest thing from her mind. Mustering all of her focus, Karma readied to make one more strike at the titan's shoulder.

Then everything erupted in blistering flashes of white pain.

"AAAAARRRHHHHHH!" All of the scouts flinched at the inhuman howl, an excruciating scream that held raw agony. Petra went green in the face and curled in on herself as if she were going to puke. Hanji, so excited moments before, looked horrified. Pixis, Irvin, Mikasa, and Levi were stationary but clearly affected. Eren had to squint his eyes and look away.

Karma's cherished, waist-length hair was held in the fist of the gangly titan that had managed to stretch and get ahold of the wide open weak point. Near half of her dark locks were being mercilessly yanked on, and her scalp was gradually being torn up, letting copious amounts of blood flow down the Long-Haired Titan's face in place of tears.

Her hands occupied with keeping the standing titan at a safe distance, there was nothing Karma could do to prevent the gangly titan from ripping her scalp clean off. More white, hot pain claimed her vision, leaving Karma to thrash out blindly with the hope that this desperate plea would work.

Numbly, her fingers weakly found what she hoped was the back of the chunky titan's neck and scratched out a bloody "X" mark.

In a flash, Levi was no longer staying still, throwing himself off of the tower toward the titans below. Shooting his grappling hooks at a sharp angle, Levi fell into an automatic spiral and had cleaved through the nape of the chunky titan's neck before anyone could blink. The fifteen meter class slumped forward, already deteriorating quickly. Karma pushed the titan away and with her newly freed hands tore her hair out of the gangly titan's grasp. In the same breath, she kicked its body over and stomped her heel down on the titan's weak point. Only when the gangly titan started to evaporate did it sink in that the fighting was finally over.

Trembling and letting out uneven puffs of searing steam, the mangled Long-Haired Titan stumbled and buckled at the knees. A cloud of heat rose from the back of the titan body's neck, and Karma struggled to pull herself out. The damage might have only been inflicted to her titan, but the pain felt all too real for Karma, making it agonizing to even move. Thinking as much would happen, Levi circled down and wrapped Karma's arm around his shoulder and lifted her up next to him. She fell unconscious instantly and Levi gave a slight sigh before hauling both of them back to the others on top of the tower and carelessly dropped her on the ground the minute he did so.

"What was _that?!_" Eren was fuming before Levi could start cleaning the blood off of his hands. "I thought you said helping her would only hurt her! Did you want to sabotage her that badly?! I thought you were better than that," he accused but didn't get a rise out of Levi. His Corporal remained level-headed and looked over at Eren. He noticed Levi's eyes weren't as coldly detached now.

"Learn to listen, brat. I said whatever happened would have to be her doing. It was her shots to call, not mine. I just did what she wanted and sliced where she told me to." Eren's eyebrows shot up and he looked over the side of the tower to see the decomposing chunky titan. Right where Karma had etched the bloody "X" was where the Corporal had cut through. Levi pulled out a white handkerchief and began wiping his hands clean even though the titan blood was already evaporating away. "This might be news to a suicidal newbie like you, but fighting isn't all about courageous acts of stupidity to test your invincibility. Two of the most valuable skills for a fighter to have are to know when you are at your limit and when it's time to rely on a teammate." Pausing, Levi gave a short glance over to the huddle tending to Karma. "I might fight solo for the most part, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate skill when I see it."

Eren was at a loss for words and couldn't articulate a response. Levi saw as much, gave a roll of his eyes and muttered, "Bumbling idiot. Tell the others I left to finish the twelve meter class off. I'll collect the girl when I get back." With that, Levi brushed past him and disappeared off the edge of the tower. Realizing after a minute that he was standing around like a fool, Eren went to join the huddle around Karma.

Hushed voices were what Karma registered first, quickly followed by wave after wave of pain and fatigue. What felt like a massive migraine was the main source of pain, meaning she probably got some sort of head injury. The most tempting thing right now was to just lay there and slip back into unconsciousness. She forced her eyes to open, regardless. Everything was smudged and blurred, but faces eventually came together. The person right in front of her stood out immediately.

Pixis gave a kind smile when Karma's unfocused eyes more or less found him. "Feeling okay there, kid? Not gonna go dying on us so early on are you?"

The sides of Karma's mouth twitched up. "Nope. You aren't gonna go killing me, I hope?" The words came out like sandpaper, but it was the one question Karma needed before she went any farther.

Pixis chuckled and shook his head. "Nope. You aren't perfect, but that's expected. I like your potential, kid, and I'll make sure Zacklay keeps you around." He would've given her a thump on the back but settled for ruffling her hair. "Good work today."

"Thank you, sir," Karma choked out, not in thanks for his praise but for telling her that she'd earned back the title to her own life. Her eyes drifted closed again, so Pixis gave her shoulder a squeeze of reassurance before the girl was completely gone.

Getting to his feet, he waved for everyone to clear out. "Well, that's certainly enough for one afternoon. Let's start heading back to HQ. Corporal Rivaille can take her back on his own; she's his responsibility now."

Everybody nodded and silently scaled down the side of the tower and walked together toward where their horses were still tied up. The quiet was comfortable, but Hanji payed no attention and couldn't keep her excitement from bubbling out.

"I don't care what you guys say; that was one of the fucking awesomest things I have ever seen!"

"Hanji, you're hopeless," every scout stated at the same time.

~*~*~*~*~*SnK*~*~*~*~*~

It had only taken a handful of minutes for Levi to walk out and finish off the twelve meter class. Some part of the process had a calming effect on him so that he didn't feel the urge when he returned to violently wake Karma up like he had that same morning. Landing with a soft thud, Levi walked over to take a seat a good distance away from Karma and began cleaning his blood-stained blades.

"Looks like I've still got to put up with your shitty comebacks," Levi commented dully.

"_Your_ comebacks are shitty," came the muffled reply. Karma had covered her face with her right arm and didn't have any intention of moving it away.

"And that's the exact kind of comeback I'm talking about." A silence fell that wasn't exactly comfortable or uncomfortable; it was just silent. Several minutes passed.

"The sun feels nice," Karma suddenly whispered. The words had possibly only been meant for herself, but Levi replied anyway.

"It's the same as it is every day," he stated, getting to his feet after having finished cleaning both of his blades. He walked slightly closer, nonverbally signaling to Karma that it was time to leave. They didn't need another titan stumbling across them.

"I dunno, it feels different today," she mumbled and didn't move to get up. "Guess I'm just happy to be here to feel it."

Levi took one more step forward to try to stop her babbling and get her to move. That was when he was able to see what she had been covering with her arm.

She was crying, tears staining the parts of her face that were still visible, and despite it all she was smiling.

Levi stopped where he stood. He didn't know what to make of it. For the most part he had to sure he wasn't seeing things, but he eventually realized his eyes weren't lying to him. Something inside him had thought it was beyond a shifter's capability to feel, let alone cry. Karma didn't fit his expectations at all. In one day alone he had witnessed her switch from being defensive, to fearful, to joking, to headstrong, right down to crying.

It didn't make sense. She didn't make sense. It was like she was a complicated puzzle that, no matter how hard he tried, Levi couldn't piece together. Every time he would try to place down a piece, two more would pop out of place. Confusing and frustrating didn't even begin to scratch the surface, and in the end he would end up with a bigger mess than what he started with. But one thing was certain.

Levi was never the type to let a mess go unattended; he would figure out Karma's puzzle one way or another.

**A/N: PLEASE DON'T KILL ME OR THROW TOMATOES! Yes, I know I went MIA for almost two months, but my Life has an agenda all its own and apparently it likes to screw with you people ... Who thought I went off and died? … *raises my hand* O.o Yeah, that bad, I know. I'M SORRY! Yeah, so my updating schedule is going to be considerably slower because of school and all that jazz… Not good, I know, but if you are still wanting your fanfic fix, I've started a collab on the side with Intrigued Writer and the story is called The Outsider, so check that out if you're interested!**

**Okay, super long wait aside, I know this chapter might not have been what you guys were expecting after such a heavy backstory chapter, but it was necessary! Slow, but necessary. Hey, at least there was a little more fluff here for you fluff maniacs! Oh, and I've got to straighten this out immediately: Eren and Karma are only going to be **_**friends**_**. Say it with me. FRIEND-ship. This is a LevixOC fic for a reason hahaha. You guys will get a healthy dose of development between Karma and Levi next chapter, too, so look forward to it! And while I'm giving a little peak into the next chapter, Karma's real name may or may not get revealed then X) *hint, hint, nudge, nudge, wink, wink* Sorry if you guys were getting attached to calling her Karma, but she actually has a name hahaha. Karma shall be dearly missed!**

**Feel free to tell me what was your favorite part in this chapter or what you think of this story so far in a review! Your support gives me the motivation to keep writing!**

**Thanks so much for reading, and have a SUPERMEGAFOXYAWESOMEHOT day! :D**

**~THC~**


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